


Watchdogs

by WolfenM



Series: Spike & Cerberus [2]
Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Whedonverse - Fandom
Genre: A boy and his dog, Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Animals, Demons, Disney World & Disneyland, F/F, F/M, Families of Choice, Family Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Humor, Multi, Redemption, Romance, Souled Vampire(s), Supernatural Elements, Team as Family, Vampires, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-08
Updated: 2015-04-10
Packaged: 2018-03-21 20:37:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 37,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3704279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfenM/pseuds/WolfenM
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Buffy is back and dating Spike, Dawn is a Slayer-In-Waiting, and Spike is Dawn's Watcher. Can they (and Cerberus the vampire dog) be a family under all the strain?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Normal

**Author's Note:**

> This is a collection of an oooooold fic series (though I've tweaked it since the original posting circa 2001). It's a sequel series to "The Adventures of Spike and Cerberus" -- the difference being this series is post-Buffy resurrection (the other was pre). It's AU to seasons 6 and 7 of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ , and seasons 4 and 5 of _Angel: The Series_.
> 
> Cerberus was runner-up for "Most Original Demon" in the third round of the Fang and Fetish Awards!
> 
>  **DISCLAIMER** : Spike, Buffy Summers, Dawn Summers, Willow Rosenberg, Xander Harris, Rupert Giles, Tara Maclay, Anya Jenkins, Daniel "Oz" Osbourne, Angel, Lorne the Host, Cordelia Chase, Charles Gunn, Wesley Wyndam-Price, Winifred Burkle, Riley Finn, Faith Lehane, Lilah Morgan, and Quentin Travers © Joss Whedon, 20th Century Fox, and Mutant Enemy. Cerberus the vampire dog, Lawrence the vampire, Devonshire the vampire, Nicky the vampire bunny, and Lydia the werewolf are mine (though Nicky is inspired by Bunnicula, © James Howe).
> 
> NOTE: Each section is headed by the initial of the person whose 3rd-person point of view the section is in.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy and Dawn clash heads over her new identity as a Slayer-in-waiting, Buffy deals with her new lease on life and her feelings for Spike, and everyone is getting a bit tired of their lifestyles.

SSSSSSSSSSSSS

"I said no!"

"But I have to go out into the field _some_ time!"

"Not if I can help it," Spike muttered under his breath as he selected another weapon from the chest. They had this argument every time he and Buffy went out on patrol. Spike was terrified that one day the li'l bit was going to win it. As he rummaged through the battered old box, his hand touched upon a bit of plastic. He stopped to look at the object: it was a fake stake, the one that Riley had used once on him, to scare him. He'd saved the stake as a reminder of what might happen if he let his guard down. Cerberus had found it, and Spike had let him used it as a chewtoy. Spike glared now at the dog.

**Don't go leavin' your toys in Buffy's playchest ....**

The dog ignored him, intent on a piece of paper on the floor.

"What's that, Buffy's training stake or something?" Dawn laughed at the chewed bit of plastic in Spike's hand.

Spike got an idea. "Yeah, Nibblet. Tell ya what. You manage to stake me with this, an' I'll let yeh come with t'night. Awright?"

Dawn clapped her hands together gleefully and followed Spike out into the backyard.

 

BBBBBBBBBBBB

Buffy came down the stairs, ready for the night's outing. She looked around the front room; only Cerberus was there. She noticed him staring at a bit of paper, and came over to see what on earth about it could hold a dog's interest. It was a postcard, covered in what looked like a child's scrawl. It read: "Cerbie- Having a wonderful time in Bali. Learn to read and write. Your friend, Nicky."

**Dawn said this came for me today. She told me what it says. I'm trying to figure out how to relate the words to these markings. And trying to figure out how a rabbit holds a pencil. Can you teach me how to read?**

Buffy ruminated for a moment on how crazy this situation would seem to a normal person, just having a dog _speak_ to you, much less want to learn to read — and receiving postcards from literary rabbits to boot! Never mind the fact that both animals were vampires ....

Then she shrugged. Who was she to talk, she who killed demons and had been brought back from death into a clone of herself? She'd given up being normal a long time ago.

"I think we might have some of my old kid's books in the basement," she offered helpfully.

Just then, a cry of "BLOODY HELL!!!" burst through the open patio door. Buffy and Cerberus raced outside to see what was the matter, Buffy nearly tripping when she saw what it was: Spike had a stake sticking out of his chest.

For just a moment, Buffy feared that this was the end — but then she realised he wasn't going "poof". She was a bit surprised at just how very relieved she was. Their relationship was very new, very unexpected; She still couldn't believe that she loved _him_ , her one-time hated enemy. As it was, they were taking it _very_ slow. They hadn't even gone out on a date yet, done nothing more than kiss a little. And now here she was rushing out to see if he was okay, actually _terrified_ that he'd been dusted.

Then she noticed her sister dancing for joy. She gaped at the younger girl in horror. "Did _you_ do this?!?"

"Yeah, isn't it great?"

Okay, now Buffy was _really_ beginning to feel like she was in the Twilight Zone. "Dawn, look how close you came to his heart, you could have _killed_ him!" she railed at her sister as she walked over to a dejected-looking vamp.

"Uh, to be fair, she actually _did_ get it through the heart," he remarked as she grabbed onto the stake to pull it out. She felt another twinge of panic — until she realised that the stake was plastic.

As relief again flooded through her, she couldn't keep from giggling. She hoped neither of them heard the hysteria in her laughter.

Dawn laughed too, quite happily as she crowed, "Now I get to go with you tonight!"

Buffy's own giggles stopped cold. She gave the vamp a look that was every bit as shocked and angry as the one she'd given Dawn just moments ago. "Excuse me? _Tell_ me you didn't tell her that she could go with if she managed to prove she could stake a vamp!"

Spike managed a weak smile, laughing nervously, "Uh, okay, ‘I didn't tell your sister that she could go with tonight if she mana-‘"

"You're a lousy liar, Spike." She held up the stake, eyeing it. "I'm suddenly wishing this _was_ real."

"C'mon, Buffy, I have to try _some_ ti--"

"No, you don't."

"But I'm a Slayer-in-Wai—"

"No, you're not. Because there are already _two_ Slayers, and I don't intend to die again anytime soon! Now you're _both_ staying here, and I'm going _alone_." She handed Dawn the stake. "Have fun with Mr. Pincushion." And with that, she stormed off.  
  
  


SSSSSSSSSS

Dawn tried to follow, but Spike grabbed her arm. "Let it go, Nibblet. I'll talk to ‘er when she gets back. For now, you can ‘ave another go with me."

Dawn pulled loose angrily. "I don't want to keep sparring with _you_ all the time! I wanna fight a _real_ vampire!" Spike flinched at that, but she didn't notice, too caught up in her own teen dramatics. "Doesn't she understand, I'm not trying to take her place! I just want to help, like the rest of the Slayerettes! I thought being named a Slayer-in-Waiting would convince her that I can fight too!"

"Nibblet, she just worries is all. And a Slayer who worries is a Slayer who's distracted. That's not a good thing! You don't want ‘er to get 'urt again, right?"

Dawn bit her lip and shook her head.

"Buffy just wants for you what she could never 'ave — a _normal life_ ," he told her as he walked her back into the house.

"It's not really like my life will ever _be_ normal, though. And I don't _want_ it to be. Normal people don't have vampires and witches for best friends."

He smiled and ruffled her hair. "But they do watch television and eat ice cream ...."

 

XXXXXXXXXXX

"THAT JERK! HE RIPPED ME OFF!!!!"

Xander woke with a start, scrambling for the stake he kept in the nightstand. He found it and crouched on the bed, looking about for a foe.

Then he noticed that Anya was holding out her hand to him. "Look at this!"

He did as he was told, thinking maybe the enemy was some little tiny thing. It looked like a quarter. He had the feeling he wasn't understanding something, but it was hard to tell when the important part of his brain, the one that dealt with cognitive thought, was apparently still asleep ....

"It's a quarter!" she informed him.

Okay, so it really _was_ a quarter then. "Um ... yeah. Uh, where'd ya get it?"

"It was under my pillow!"

He laughed at that. "Heh, whadja do, Ahn, loose a tooth?"

"I might as well have! I mean, that thing was supposedly worth a few _thousand_ , and he only give me a lousy 25 cents?!?! I thought if _any_ body would be interested in a rare dragon tooth, the _Tooth_ Fairy would be! No one else seemed to want it!"

Xander blinked. "There really is a Tooth Fairy?"

Anya looked at him like he was insane. "I suppose next you'll be telling me you don't believe in that murdering Easter Bunny! Hey! I bet the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy are in cahoots! Yeah! The Bunny brings candy to rot little children's teeth, and then the Tooth Fairy collects them!"

Xander sighed. Sometimes he wondered what it would be like to have a normal life ....

 

WWWWWWWW

Willow held her breath as she cleaned up the mess left behind in the wake of her last spell. She made a mental note to check the expiration dates on all her ingredients next time.

"Well, that's one way to get me up," Tara told her. Or rather, "Thads wode way do ged me ub," as she plugged her nose against the assailing stench of old Lowark Demon spore and rotted food.

"What, you don't like the smell of freshly baked demon droppings in a garbage sauce first thing in the morning?" Willow quipped. Then she looked down at the mess with a sigh.

Tara grabbed a few towels and helped her with the cleanup.

"Thanks." Willow smiled at her.

"So what were you trying to do?"

"Well, we got a lot of junkmail yesterday, and I was thinking, ‘Gee, if only we could eat this stuff, no one would ever go hungry again."

"... Sooooo ... you were trying to make our mail edible?"

"Well ... sorta. See, I found this spell that makes images real. I though I could take the food coupons in this flyer here and make it real ...."

Tara looked ill. "Uh, Willow, you realise that that spell just makes the item in question out of the demon spore, don't you? I mean, the food would be _made_ from—"

"Well, I didn't think it would _taste_ like it! And we eat stuff grown in cow manure — I thought maybe once I figured out how the spell worked, I might substitute that for some of the spore, kinda like a filler .... It's a lot cheaper in the long run than real food."

Tara gave Willow a serious look. "Cheaper than ramen? Sweetie, are we _that_ badly off?"

Willow sighed. "Well, we're not destitute, but yeah, we could be better. But who I really worry about is Buffy. Slayin' and spellwork don't exactly pay the bills, and with all of us going to school and/or working _and_ slaying ... I don't see how we can all keep it up, _especially_ not her. Sometimes I think we'd all be better off living like normal people, forgetting magic and all that goes with it."

 

SSSSSSSSSSSS

Spike walked into the kitchen that morning to find Buffy staring at her knee. His brow furrowed in concern as he sat down beside her. "Did you hurt yourself last night?"

"No." He couldn't tell if she was being cold or just preoccupied. He sat in silence, wondering if he should say something, when she spoke again. "It's weird. I look like me, I feel like me, but then I notice the little things .... Like, where did that scar I got when I fell off my bike go? Where's that slight little hitch I have in my ankle from when I broke it?"

"Um ... pet, clones only copy your DNA; your body is the way it would 'ave been if—"

"—nothing had ever happened to me. I know. It's just ... disconcerting. Like I didn't exist before."

"Join the club." Dawn sat down at the table, dressed already. She shrugged as she tied her shoes. "You get used to it, the idea that you didn't really live the life you thought you did. And then you start to forget, and those things from your life that aren't really yours feel enough like they are that it doesn't matter what the truth is. Until someone hands you something _real_ , something that _is_ yours, and someone _else_ won't let you use it!"

"Dawnie—"

"You got your own life back; why do you have to keep taking mine?! I was the Key, I was the one who was supposed to seal the portal, but you took my place! And now I'm a Slayer-in-Waiting, but you won't let me be that either! So what am I, Buffy? You want me to live the normal life _you_ always wanted, but what if  _I_ don't _want_ that? I may not have actually lived the life I remember, but I can _start_ living one now, by contributing to the world and fulfilling the role I've been given. What do you expect me to do, just hang out at the mall and go to the movies and gossip about boys all day?! Live like my empty-headed peers who don't know what real fear or real pain or real _love_ is? Well I'm sorry, but that's too mundane for me! Like it or not, Buffy, being your sister means that monsters and magic  _are_ normal for me, and no amount of closing your eyes and wishing it would all just go away is going to change that! I'm going to the magic shop for a reality check!" With that, she stomped out of the room and out the front door.

Buffy put her head in her hands. "God, now I know how my mother felt."

Spike reached out and rubbed her shoulder. "Look, love, about yesterday ...."

She looked up at him and took his hand in hers. "It's okay. I'm sorry I overreacted. I know you were trying to _keep_ her from going with me, and trying to be fair it her, too. So how _did_ she manage to stake you?"

Spike sighed. "I don't know .... But she said something to me yesterday, and maybe she's right. She said, ‘I want to fight against a _real_ vampire'. Maybe ... maybe I'm losing my edge?"

Buffy smiled. "Or maybe you just were too afraid of hurting her."

Spike got up with a growl of frustration and began to pace the room. "But that's just it! Until I met you, I was ‘The Big Bad!' Now look at me! I fall in love with the Slayer and suddenly I'm Mr. Fluffy Puppy with Bad Teeth! Buffy, I love you, don't take this the wrong way—" he sank back into the chair, "but I was a better Vampire when I was ... well, _evil_. What am I now? Sometimes I wish I'd never become a vampire, that I'd lived a normal life, so I wouldn't know what I'm missing now ...."

 

GGGGGGGGG

After shooing out the last customers for the night, Giles took stock of the state of the store. Some teenagers had come in and really made a mess of the place. Upon further inspection, he found they'd actually _broken_ a few things as well. A fitting end to a lousy day, a day full of people looking for items that he frankly didn't think they ought to be looking for, and getting angry with him when he refused to order them. A day of person after insipid person asking "What's _this_ for? Is this really a _demon's claw_? Can you tell me how to do a spell to make my teacher give me all A's?" Everyone looked at him like he was some djinn who could make all their dreams come true. It was nights like these that made him wonder what his life would have been like if he'd become a _normal_ librarian, one who simply shelved books and checked them out to people. Or maybe become a normal shopkeeper, with normal products like toothpaste and candy ....

"We did quite well today," Anya chirped happily as she counted out the money.

A normal shopkeeper who didn't have an ex-demon for a partner.

"What does this say?" Dawn asked from the table. She had a stack of old tomes by her, and was looking at the musty pages of another. She had asked Giles, Spike, Willow, and Tara to teach her about old alphabets so she could help in research. Unfortunately, she had asked them in front of Travers, who had thought it was an excellent idea, so Giles couldn't say no.

Giles sighed and looked at the passage she was pointing to. Then the scholar in him perked up its sleepy head. "Huh. Interesting. It's a spell to drive out magic from a town."

"Drive out? You mean like chase away demons? That could be useful!"

"Yes ... Yes it could! Let me see that ...." He sat down beside her and began to read.

There was a knock at the door. Anya let in Xander, Willow, and Tara. A few minutes later, there was another knock, followed by the entry of Buffy, Spike, and Cerberus. Giles and Dawn showed Willow the book while Anya and Tara chatted with Buffy and Spike, and Xander played with the dog.

  
  
SSSSSSSSSS

"Check out what I taught Cerberus today," Spike told Xander. He went over to the table and gabbed a pen and Dawn's notebook. He laid the notebook down on the floor with an empty page showing, and put the pencil in the dog's mouth, so that Cerberus was holding the cap in his teeth and the pen was point-down.

Cerberus pressed the pen tip to the paper and began to move it along the page. When he stopped, Spike proudly handed the page to Xander. It read, in a very wobbly script, "Hi. I'm Cerberus."

"WHOA! That is such a cool trick!"

Spike bit back his annoyance at the fact that Xander still didn't seem to think of Cerberus as having the intelligence of a human.

"Well, it's not a trick like ‘roll over', he really can—"

"But we can at least _try_ it!" Dawn's outburst came from the group huddle by the table.

"It's too dangerous," Tara told her gently. "We don't know exactly what the spell will do. We'll hold onto it and study it, and if we figure it out, _then_ we can try to cast it."

"Besides," Giles added, "we don't even know what a 'blessed dungfang' _is_ ...."

"Don't be upset, Dawn!" Anya said in her irritatingly cheerful way. "Let me teach you a new trick I learned!" She reached out to Dawn's ear, and appeared to have pulled a quarter out of it. She handed it to Dawn. "Now you try!"

Dawn smiled placatingly. "That's ok, Anya, I doubt I could do it as well as you."  
  
  


XXXXXXXXXXX

Xander took the coin from Dawnie. "Heh, everybody seems to be learning new tricks today. Is this the coin you got from the Tooth Fairy, Anya?" Anya nodded.

Xander flashed back to his thoughts from that morning. A normal life ....

 

  
GGGGGGGGGG  
  
Giles took the coin from him. "So ... is this is what happened to my missing dragon's tooth?" He sighed internally. A normal life ....

He looked over to Spike. "Hey, have you gotten paid yet?"

Spike scowled. "No."

The council had said something about not _needing_ to pay a dead watcher. Giles was fighting on the bleached vamps behalf, figuring that Spike would undoubtedly use the money on the Summers women, and they sorely needed it. He flipped the coin over to the vamp, who almost dropped it.  
  
  


SSSSSSSSSSSSS

Spike sighed. His reflexes _were_ getting bad. He thought about the fact that, if he had been made a Watcher all those years ago, when they were about to approach him and Dru beat them to the punch, how he _would_ have gotten paid, if he'd lived out a normal life ....

  
  
BBBBBBBBBBB

Buffy took the quarter from Spike. "You owe me still for the beer," she teased him. She had bought it for him since he was living with them now. Living with a vampire. A Slayer living with a vampire. Why did she have to have these strange complications in her life at all? Why couldn't she just go to school and work a normal job, and come home to a normal boyfriend? Live a normal life?  
  
  


WWWWWWW

Willow walked over and took the coin from Buffy. She held it in her hand, blew into it, and showed everyone that it had disappeared, only to reappear in her other hand. Why couldn't life be as simple as a parlour trick? Why couldn't you just say the magic words and have everything turn out as they were supposed to? If magic worked that well, she could just wish for a normal life, one free of monsters, so she would never _need_ to use magic again. A normal life ....

Willow smiled and gave the coin to Dawn. "Here, maybe learning a magic trick will keep you out of trouble..." She tousled the girl's hair and left her to her books.

There was a yelp from across the room.  
  
  


SSSSSSSSSSS

"Well what are you doing using petrified wood to play fetch with him?!" Spike snapped at Xander as he looked into the poor dog's maw. There was a gap where one of his canine's use to be.

"I found it!" Anya cried, holding up the missing tooth. She looked at it consideringly. "I wonder what price a vampire dog's tooth would fetch ...."

"ANYA!" Spike protested.

  
  
DDDDDDDD

Dawn sat down, shaking her head at her friends' antics. She rolled the coin along her fingers idly as she re-read the passage with the spell that had interested her. She read it aloud.

And promptly disappeared.  
  
  


BBBBBBBBBB

Spike and Cerberus dropped to the floor. Buffy shook Spike, concerned. He didn't respond. He was like a true corpse. So was Cerberus.  
  
  


AAAAAAAAA

Anya had been about to price an item when she realised it wasn't there. Neither were several other items that were supposed to be next to it, all demon body parts. She looked about the room. "We've been robbed!"  
  
  


BBBBBBBBBB

Buffy looked around too, and noticed that her sister wasn't there. "Where's Dawn?"  
  
  


WWWWWWW

After they got no response from calling the girl's name, Willow tried to talk to her telepathically. She got no response. She told Tara so, mind-to-mind, and asked her love what she thought they should do. And got no response. She tried doing a group sending. Still nothing. "My powers aren't working!"

Tara looked scared. "M-mine aren't eith-ther!"

There was a knock at the door.

Anya walked warily over to the door and opened it, and in floated a little male fairy.

"Now you've done it! Which of you cast that spell?" he demanded.

"What spell?" Giles asked it.

"The spell that drives magic out of a town!"

"None of us did!" Willow protested. "We don't even know what a ‘blessed dung-fang' is!"

The fairy laughed. "So what were you expecting then when that one over there left me the tooth under her pillow?"

Anya's eyes widened. " _You're_ the little creep that ripped me off!" 

Xander did a double take. " _That's_ the Tooth Fairy?"

"Well I'm sure as hell not the Easter Bunny!"

"But ... you're a _guy_ ...."

"Your point being?"

Xander apparently didn't know what to say to that.

"Look, you people obviously don't get how this works. You lose a tooth. You put it under you're pillow. I _eat_ the tooth. I leave my dropping behind in exchange. You use my dropping to make a wish. The tooth you left me was an especially powerful one, so you should have been able to get a pretty big wish off it. Obviously you wished for all the magic here to go away, and that's why yer two friends here are dead as doornails -— no more demon magic to keep their corpses animated."

 

  
BBBBBBBBB

Buffy choked back a sob as she brushed the cheek of the still vampire. She thought about what she had been thinking while she'd held the coin.

So did Willow, Giles, and Xander, apparently.

"This is all my fault!" they all said at once. They looked about in confusion. " _Your_ fault?" they said altogether. "I was the one who wished for a normal life!" It sounded like the words were being said in stereo.

The fairy shook his head. "Typical. You humans never appreciate what you have until it's gone. You never see how magic holds the universe together, how utterly worthless it becomes without it! I don't know why you insist on thinking magic is out of the ordinary, as if it isn't apart of the real world..."

Buffy looked at Dawn's empty seat. She finally understood what had happened. "Oh Dawnie!" she cried. Dawn had been made from magic. And when the magic was unmade, so was she.

"Th-there has to be some way to reverse it!" Tara insisted. "I-I m-mean, _you're_ h-here, and y-you're a m-magical creature ...."

"Yes, well, magic worked by a dungfang doesn't affect me. Now, what you'll be wantin' is another dungfang, so you can still work magic in a magicless place, and reverse all this. Have you a tooth?"  
  
  


AAAAAAAAA

Anya looked about, but all the demon teeth had disappeared, like Dawn had. Then she remembered Cerberus' fang. If the dog's body was still there, maybe the tooth was?

Sure enough, she found it in Spike's stiff hand — he had been trying to fit it back into the dog's mouth when the spell was cast.

The fairy ate the tooth, then licked his fingers. "Now, er, yer privy?" Anya pointed to the back. The fairy was back in a few minutes with a shiny new quarter.

Anya took it from him gingerly. She realised she would never be able to look at money with quite the same respect again. Although, in a roundabout way, she now had more respect for the value of a quarter than ever before. She handed the coin to Willow.  
  
  


WWWWWWWW

"What do I do?" Willow asked the little man.The fairy floated over to the open tome. He turned the page and pointed to a line. "First, think hard about your life as it was before, _with_ the magic. Think hard about why you want it back, how _much_ you want it back. Remember that your friends' lives and the lives of other magical creatures in this town depend on it. Resign yourself to taking the bad with the good. Then say the words of the reversal spell."

Willow closed her eyes and concentrated. Tara placed her hands over Willow's, adding her wish. The others Scoobies came over and did the same.

Willow thought about how she never would have met Buffy if not for vampires; odd as it sounded, she had reason to be thankful. She wouldn't have met Tara, or even Oz. Dawn, who was like her little sister, would never have been created without magic. Willow then thought about how excited she was to start her training as a witch, how good it felt to have the power moving through her and to learn new things. How alive she felt.  
  
  


GGGGGGGGGG

Giles thought about how he never would have met Buffy and the other Scoobies, who were like his children, if magic hadn't made Watchers necessary. He realised now how boring his days would truly have been, how lonely and empty. Magic have given him life, just as it had for Spike and Buffy, albeit in differnt ways.

 

XXXXXXXXXX

Xander understood too that magic was the whole reason he had met nearly everyone in his life who was dear to him, especially Anya. If she had spent all those years as a demon, she would have died a peasant girl.

 

BBBBBBBBBBB

Buffy realised that she would never have come to Sunnydale. She would have lived out her days the shallow teenager she had been before she was Chosen, a worthless human being who would never help anyone. She would never have met her best friends or the man who was like a father to her when her own father was no such thing. She would never have met her first love, Angel, or her current love — yes, she _did_ love him — Spike. Both would have died long ago. Her sister would never have been made, and Buffy would have been alone when her mother died. And then she realised that Spike and Dawn _were_ dead, at this moment, and she understood how badly they must have missed her when she was gone. She wanted them back, and Cerberus too, and would suffer anything to have them with her again.

Willow said the words.

"What's with the group huddle?" Dawn was looking at them like they'd lost their minds.

"And how did I end up lying on the floor?" came Spike's vice from the other side of the room".

Buffy didn't know who to run to first.

The rest of the Scoobies went to Dawn, so Buffy went over to Spike to help him up. She pulled him into a fierce hug. "God, I thought I'd lost you!" She kissed him, then dragged him over to the table. She let go then, but only to give her sister a hug. She sat in the chair next to the younger girl and pulled her vampboy down beside her. 

Giles explained to Dawn, Spike, and Cerberus what they had missed, saying that he hoped that taught Dawn a lesson about messing with spells she didn't understand.

"Oh yeah, sure, I'll remember not to hold an enchanted fairy dropping next time I'm reading a spell ...."

 

SSSSSSSSSSSS

Later that evening, Spike was holding Buffy as they sat watching TV together on the couch. Dawn had gone to bed.

"You know, I'd never considered that before ...." Spike murmured into her ear during a commercial break.

"Mmm, what's that?"

"That if I hadn't been made a vampire, I never would have met you."

"Heh, I thought you said you would have been better off never having met me!"

"To be an evil vampire, it would have been better if I hadn't. But I don't _want_ to be evil anymore. Lydia said that I could choose want kind of being I am, human, or vampire, or both. I was afraid being too human was making me soft, but ... if that's the price I pay for loving you, then I'd pay it a hundred times over, and gladly! I was being stupid, fretting over losing what I _was_. Maybe I _did_ lose against Dawn simply because I was afraid of ‘urtin ‘er, but that's a good thing. I mean, I don't want to hurt you or Dawn, an' I don't want to be some dead poofter rotting in my grave. I don't regret having been made a vampire anymore, because it made me stronger than I was and it meant living to see you. I don't regret getting this chip anymore, because it mad me step back and see how much I _loved_ you. And now I can do more good than I ever could while I was alive."

She smiled. "That didn't make one bit of sense. Are you saying I have to take the bad with the good?" she teased.

He smiled back. "That's exactly what I'm saying ...." He kissed her, reminding them both of what putting up with the bad had gained them.


	2. Chipless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It had to happen some day, Spike losing his chip. Question is, what will Spike do now?

CCCCCCCCC

Cerberus watched as Spike tossed the pint of "Grape Ice" triumphantly into the air and caught it with a self-satisfied grin. A few drops of water hit Cerberus on the head, telling him the rain that had been threatening all day was finally coming; Spike apparently noticed it too, tucking the treasure into his coat.

Dawn had apparently told Spike once that Grape Ice was her favourite flavour of sherbet, complaining that they never seemed to make it anymore. Spike found an ice cream parlour that advertised a willingness to make designer flavours; the owner was familiar with the flavour in question and promised he could approximate it. Spike thought it would be a nice surprise for the Nibblet, who'd just gotten back her report card with all "A"'s and "B"'s — no small feat for a busy Slayer-in-Waiting. (As if Spike needed an excuse, when spoiling Dawn was one of the vampman's favourite pasttimes ....) Cerberus just hoped the flavour was a good match.

Even if it wasn't, though, Cerberus was enjoying the night air and the chance to stretch his legs, having spent all day hunched over a pile of books. Spike seemed pleased with how well the dog was progressing with his reading lessons, but also seemed to think that offering the dog a "treat" for a job well done would insult the dog's intelligence. Yet the vampman wouldn't hesitate to give a treat to the human girl! The irony was not lost on the canine. Still, he wouldn't beg; he wasn't just some _ordinary_ dog, after all.

The sweet night air the vampdog had been filtering through his nose suddenly turned sour. He felt Spike tense, and knew his friend smelled it too. Fear was rancid enough all on its own; add cheap beer, cigarettes, and Poachen demons to it, and it was downright disgusting. He never understood why Spike seemed to enjoy the smell of beer and cigarettes, although he suspected it was the "Pavlov's Dog" scenario (he'd just read about it that morning), where a subject could be trained to react a certain way to stimulus via repetition and expectation. Those particular smells could almost always be associated with a fight, and there was little Spike liked more. Through their bond, Cerberus found himself salivating in anticipation that was not even his own.

They followed their noses down a sidestreet, where they found a couple of teenage girls being harassed by a handful of half-drunk monsters. Grinning with his game-face, Spike plopped the pint down on a trash can lid. The sound drew the attention of one of the thugs. The sight of a vampire wasn't frightening to the Poachen, but it did manage to elicit another scream from one of the girls they had surrounded.

To fend off the vamps, the demons had to let their prey go. Cerberus didn't notice at first, his attention on the Paochen, but only the screamer had fled. Her hands free, the other girl pulled something from out of her pocket. She touched the object to the back of one Poachen's neck, and he dropped to the ground with a shriek. She came up behind the last one and did the same. As it dropped to the ground, Spike's fist flew over its head, and connected with her eye.

Spike fell to the ground in pain as his chip kicked in. Cerberus was rocked by the wave of agony that swept over him via the bond he shared with the bleach-blond vamp. While they were down, the girl touched the object to Spike's neck. It was a tazer.

Cerberus picked up a stray thought through the agony: namely, that Spike had never felt such pain before from the chip before. Electricity like white-hot needles stabbed through the vamp's brain and down his spine — and the brain and spine of Cerberus. He felt like someone was holding a lit cigarette to his brain. Then the darkness came over Spike, but Cerberus, blessedly cut off form the torment, managed to hold on to consciousness. Still, he couldn't move.

The girl put the tazer back in her pocket and reached into another one. She pulled out a wooden stake this time. A wild light gleamed in her eye and her teeth glinted in her dark smile. She was about to plunge the stake home when she was startled by a siren. In a moment, flashing blue lit up the alley. The light showed Cerberus that he and his friend were lying amongst puddles of a strange green goo, puddles of demon remains that were being quickly washed away by the sudden downpour. The girl, though, was gone. A moment later, Cerberus wasn't even aware of the rain, his consciousness having finally follwed Spike's into nothingness.

 

DDDDDDDD

Dawn raced to answer the doorbell. "Did you forget your keys again? Can't you just pick the lock?" she told the figure behind the door as she opened it. Then she saw who it actually was, and for once was struck dumb.

"Pick the lock? Good heavens, what _has_ your Watcher been teaching you?"

"GILES!" Dawn let out an excited squeal as she gave the man a bear hug. Giles had left for England a week or so ago; she hadn't expected to see him again so soon. He returned her hug and ruffled her hair, making her giggle.

Buffy came running down the stairs. Dawn let Giles go, only so he could be crushed in another bear hug by the Slayer.

"Buffy—" he rasped.

"Oh! Sorry!" She let him go, brushing the hair out of her eyes sheepishly. "I forget about the Slayer-strength sometimes ...."

He chuckled. "Quite all right; I'm happy to see you, too."

"And don't think I'm _not_ happy to see you, Giles, but ... what are you doing back?"

Dawn could practially read her sister's thoughts: did he think Buffy couldn't take care of herself? Really, just because she'd died twice and had almost no money ....

"Well, you're not going to believe this ..." He took of his glasses and started to clean them. Not a good sign. "But the, ah, Council has ... located another Slayer-in-Waiting."

Dawn and her sister blinked in confusion. "And you flew all the way back to tell us?" they asked in unison. If anyone needed proof that Dawn was made from Buffy, all they had to do was watch the two of them together.

"Yes, well, ah ... it seems the girl in question is _here_. In the Hellmouth, I mean."

Dawn wasn't sure why, but she felt a sudden surge of jealousy, along with a sense of territorialism. Which was stupid, because it wasn't like she really _wanted_ to be the Slayer; if she did become the Slayer, that would mean Faith was dead. She didn't wish anyone dead, no matter whether she liked them or not. So why did she feel like she suddenly had competition? She should be happy — if this girl lived nearby, they could train together! It would be like having another sister!

Buffy was shocked. "How is that possible? Two girls in the same place??"

"Well, ah..." Dawn hated when Giles spoke like this; what he had to say in such cases was almost never good. "It seems possible that it's this _other_ girl who is _actually_ the Slayer-in-Waiting here."

"... WHAT?!?" the girls said in unison. Dawn felt like she was in danger of something being taken from her. Her sister, though, was obviously angry that such a mistake — one that could have put Dawn's life in danger if someone had wanted to eliminate Potentials — had been made in the first place.

"Well, you have to understand that reading the signs is like reading the Tarot." Giles began to pace. "It's all subject to interpretation. The Council knew there was a Potential Slayer in the Hellmouth. They thought it was Dawn, but may have been thrown off because she was made from an actual Slayer." He granted Dawn a sympathetic glance, but she could see the relief in his eyes as well, relief that she was no longer likely to share the ultimate fate of her sister now.

Buffy wanted to believe it, Dawn could tell, but nevertheless wasn't convinced. "So what makes them so sure it's this girl?"

"They aren't _entirely_ sure, but one of the Council's psychics had a vision of her slaying a vampire, and we _do_ know there is _supposed_ to be a Slayer-in-Waiting here .... It's just that apparently the signs are now pointing more specifically towards the other side of town, where this girl lives."

"So, is this just a social call, or do you want me to help you track her down?" Buffy asked dryly.

Giles smiled sheepishly. "Well, of course I came to see _you_ ... but if you're offering, I would welcome the help."

 _Of course she'd help. This might put an end to my oh-so-dangerous training,_ Dawn thought bitterly to herself.

Dawn, for her part, was determined to help too: She didn't buy this "mix-up" story. She _was_ a Slayer-in-Waiting, she was sure of it. She could _feel_ it. Maybe it was just that there really was _another_ Potential in town, despite the unlikely odds of it.

 

SPSPSPSPSPSP

The first thing he noticed was the smell. It seemed to come from everywhere, the stench of rot and decay. The second thing he noticed was that the smell didn't actually seem to _bother_ him. The third was that it was very dark where he was. The fourth, that he seemed to be in a very small, cramped space. The fifth, that he seemed to be naked, save for a cloth draoed over his dangly bits, and very cold. The sixth, that he didn't seem to _mind_ being cold, any more than he minded the smell that should, or so he suspected, have had him retching.

Only after noticing all those things did he realise he had no idea who he was, much less where.

Was he inside a box? He tried pushing up on what he thought was the lid. Instead of the lid moving, it felt like the ground did, in the direction of his head, and his body moved with it. Light flooded his tiny box, and for a moment, he was blind.

He could hear just fine, though, and his ears told him that there was someone out there — wherever "there" was — outside of his box. Whoever _he_ was. Wherever his _box_ was.

"Oh my god! Doc! Dr. Lawrence! We got a live one!"

Dr. Lawrence? Was _he_ Lawrence? Was he a _doctor_?

"Oh man, I can't believe this is happening on _my_ watch ...." The voice mumbled.

He jumped (well, as well as one _can_ jump when one is lying down) when the ground moved again. Suddenly, he was in the open air.

A head popped into view. "Hey, man, the doctor will be here in a minute," the voice told him, coming from the head above him. He felt a warm hand on his bare arm. He remembered then that he was mostly naked, and was mortified. He tried to ask for his clothes, but when he spoke, no sound came out. He took a deep breath and tried again. "My clothes ... please ..."

"Oh! Right, you must be freezing!" The head disappeared, but the voice continued. "Hospital regulations say you should put on a gown, but I don't have any here, just the clothes we took offa ya, so I guess you can have ‘em back." The head came back into view, wearing a grin that almost made him jump again. "'Sides, they're gonna be a lot warmer anyway, not to mention a lot more dignified!"

He blanched at the feel of the strange man's hands on him as the fellow helped him up and into his clothes, but something told him it was best to cooperate. He looked about the room as he dressed. It was apparently a morgue. What was he doing there?

 

CCCCCCCCCCC

"Poor little guy. Hope he didn't belong to some kid."

"Nah, didn't you see that other guy? He wasn't no family man. Dog was probably an attack dog or somethin'."

"No way, he's one o' those Jack Russels, like that dog my kid likes, whatsisface, Wishbone? Or that one on Frazier?"

"So?"

"So they ain't attack dogs, stupid! Geez, you think just because a guy dyes his hair and wears leather, he's some punk, ready to beat up the first guy he sees!"

"I call ‘em like I see ‘em .... Oh, hey, that's probably Animal Control."

The crunch of gravel made the dog's ears twitch. His eyes weren't open yet, but he could see the change in light through his lids. There was a loud sound: some distant part of his mind told him it was a car door slamming shut. A slapping sound now, footsteps on wet pavement, maybe.

His eyes snapped open when hands touched him. He leapt to his feet and growled at the stranger.

"Whoa! What the hell?!? I thought you guys said he was _dead!_ "

"But we ... I-I coulda swore he _was_ , man!" the first voice he'd heard protested.

"Whoa, look at his face!" the second speaker added.

The dog could feel that _something_ was happening to his head, but he didn't know what. The strange humans seemed frightened by it, and that was all he cared about. The one who'd touched him backed away and headed towards his truck.

"I've got some tranqs in here ...."

The other men stayed where they were. One of them was holding out a shiny thing to him, and that distant voice in his mind told him that it was not something friendly. It certainly didn't smell like food. The other man was speaking to him in soothing tones. For some reason, one he couldn't place, he didn't trust the man. He didn't give them a chance to do anything else, turning tail and running down the alley as fast as his paws would carry him. A loud bang followed him into the shadows, but didn't catch him.

 

SJSJSJSJSJSJ

The shining knife spun through the air and embedded itself deep into pressboard wall of Shelly's room. It hit just shy of the circle she'd painted on the wall; marks from past strikes were all around it. She knew that, much like on a tree, the marks on the outside rings were mostly older hits, while the ones closer to the center circle were newer, showing her progress. There were even quite a few in the small circle itself — she hit it more often than she missed, nowadays. But tonight she was a bit off her game.

She didn't dare take a knife with her outside, knowing she might easily be tempted to kill with it. It wasn't exactly that she objected to accidentally killing humans — some were more monstrous than the actual monsters — but that doing so carried a whole truckload of problems, mainly unwanted attention. She wouldn't be able to fight the monsters of the night, human or otherwise, with cops looking over her shoulder.

Instead, when the monsters passed for human and she couldn't be sure if they were vamp or not, she contented herself with incapacitating her victims first, double-checking their humanity, questioning them if need be, and _then_ killing them if they were indeed vamps. That way she made no mistakes. Except tonight, her usual tactics it hadn't quite worked out. She was, for a change, certain that the man she'd tazed was a vamp, had seen his game face, but since the tazer was already in her hand, she'd used it instead of dusting him right away. And then, because of the terrible timing of the authorities, she'd had to leave him un-dusted.

Although ... now that she thought about it, perhaps it was better she _hadn't_ kill him. She wasn't entirely certain, but it seemed the vamp had been _helping_ her. That, when he'd punched her, he had actually been aiming for the demon she had been about to hit herself, who'd ducked and let Shelly take the hit instead. She knew the Slayer had some vampire boyfriend, but this one better fit the physical description of a cold killer named Spike. Then again, she'd heard rumors that _he_ had started running with the Slayer too. Was the woman making a business of reforming vampires? Maybe Shelly had, deep down, sensed that, and that was why she hadn't been quick to end the vanp's existence.

After all, if her suspicion was accurate, then this situation was a prime example of why Shelly didn't kill her victims right off the bat. Better to make sure they were actually guilty, first. She didn't want an innocent to die like her father had, convicted and given the death sentence for a crime he hadn't commited.

So which was she more upset over, the fact that she'd let a vamp escape, or that she might have killed a good guy if she _had_ staked him?

"So, we gonna go out again, or what?" asked her friend Kira.

Shelly laughed. "I dunno, you sure you feel safe enough with me around? You sure bailed on me tonight."

"Aw, c'mon, Shells! There were too many of ‘em! You shoulda hightailed it too! Don't go yellin' at me for having some common sense!"

Shelly shrugged. "Now you sound like my Pop."

Kira shuddered. "He's _dead_."

"Don't stop ‘im from talkin' too much."

 

XXXXXXXXX

"Thanks for coming over on such short notice, guys," Buffy greeted Xander and Anya.

"Hey, it's no problem," Xander assured her. "It's been a while since we got the chance to hang with Dawnie anyway ...."

He caught Anya giving him an annoyed look. "No, it hasn't! We watched her last week so Buffy and Spike could go on patrol! _They_ got to see a little action, but have _we_ lately? NOOOoooo—"

"Hey, it wasn't _that_ kind of action!" Buffy protested.

Actually, Xander thought, it would have been nice if Buffy and Spike  _had_ been going out on a date — they still hadn't yet, and he felt a little sorry for them.

"We can do something later tonight, Anya," he suggested.

"Oh no you don't, no babysitter shenanigans while the kid's upstairs sleeping!" Buffy crossed her arms and glared at him.

He gave her a pained look. "You're not helping!" he complained. "Besides, I _meant_ when we got home!"

Ha caught Anya looking to Buffy, brow raised. "Hey, yeah! Just how long are you going to be?"

Buffy shrugged. "I dunno. As long as it takes to hunt down a girl we've never seen and don't even know the name of."

Anya threw her hands in the air. "Great. We're not only spending the night here, but the next _month_."

Buffy simply shrugged and followed Giles out the door.

Xander couldn't help but notice how Willow and Tara had avoided babysitting duty. He hoped they were having more fun than _he_ was about to — which was probably none at all ....

 

TTTTTTTT

"Will, I'm telling you, this _isn't_ a good idea!"

"Honestly, Tara, you're starting to sound like my mother!" Will seemed to think better of that remark. "I'm sorry, baby, but think of how much easier it will be to move about the Hellmouth if I can get this perfected!"

"But portals are dangerous!" Tara insisted. "Look at what happened to you when you did that teleportation spell!"

"That was different; that was me moving _without_ a door. I'm making a door first this time, and I'm using a tool to do it. Besides, I'm a lot more powerful now!"

That was what _worried_ Tara. Willow was impossible to dissuade when she had her mind set on something. Problem was, she rarely thought out the consequences of her actions first. Power had turned her from shy, timid, and cautious, to brave, reckless, and outright obnoxious. Tara was at a loss as to what to do. She watched helplessly as her lover finished the adjustments on the gauntlet she had fashioned. At least they were out in the middle of nowhere. Hopefully if something went wrong, they would be the only ones hurt by the spell ....

 

SPSPSPSPSP

The John Doe was dressed by the time the doctor came in. The newcomer looked at him strangely as he walked slowly into the room, and stared at him for several long moments more. Finally, he spoke to the orderly. "Why don't you leave us, Frank..."

"But my shift—"

"Janet will be here before long. I don't think any of our guests are going to be checking out anytime soon. I'll watch them till she gets here."

"Uh ... o-okay, doc, yer the boss..."

The doctor followed the orderly to the door and closed it behind the young man. He watched the man for a few moments longer through the window, then turned to face his patient.

"Let's get a bite to eat, shall we?" He opened the door again and motioned for the would-be corpse to follow.

 

DSDSDSDSDS

Dawn hadn't waited to hear the front door open, figuring that, if she was going to follow Buffy and Giles, she would need to be out there _before_ they'd left left, so she could see where they went. She's opened her window and lowered the rope ladder that she had put together long ago for just such an emergency, and had waited behind the neighbor's tree. She managed to stay hidden when Xander and Anya arrived, and when Buffy and Giles left. Now, she watched her sister and the Watcher go down the block a ways; now, she set off after them. This was going to be tough, staying close enough so that she didn't lose them but far enough back that Buffy didn't notice her — and all without a passerby thinking she was up to something. Of course she _was_ , but she couldn't _seem_ it.

 

CCCCCCCCC

The white and brown terrier picked up and followed a familiar scent in the alley. As he went, the scent was joined by other familiar smells. He still didn't know what any of them were, but they made him feel safe. Maybe this way led to food?

He saw a man and woman coming towards him; he almost ran off, when suddenly the breeze carried their scent to him. It was so familiar ... Whoever they were, he didn't feel they were a danger. He trotted up to them, tail wagging. Perhaps they would feed him.

"Cerberus! Heya, boy!" The woman smiled and knelt beside him, scratching him behind the ear. "Where's Spike?"

**Is she talking to me? How is it that I'm understanding her?**

The woman stopped her attentions and stared at him. "Huh? Yeah, I'm talking to you! Geez, I'm not _that_ bad with the conversation thing, am I?" She stood and looked to the man beside her.

He took off his glasses and began to clean them, as if by way of answer.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Thanks for the vote of confidence." She looked down at the dog. "So where's Spike?"

**Spike?**

The Woman put her hands on her hips and frowned. "All right, what are you two up to?"

It was strange: he understood the words this human was saying, but he didn't know what she _meant_. He decided to keep things simple, and hope she would oblige him: **FOOD.**

"Oh, he's on a food run? What's with the big secret?" She smiled. "Oh, I know! He's bringing home a surprise, isn't he?" She grinned, but the smile fell as fast as it appeared, into a pout. "But now we're not gonna be home when he brings it back!"

 _Forget this ..._ the dog decided. He was never going to get anything out of her, food or answers. He continued on his way, following the first scent again.

Feeling eyes on him, he turned back once and found the man and woman watching him, brows furrowed in perplexion, but ignored them, moving on.

 

SPSPSPSPSP

"So, my dear boy, which do you prefer, chocolate or vanilla?" The doctor motioned towards the bi-racial couple kissing on the park bench.

The patient looked around in confusion. "I-I don't see an ice cream stand..."

The doctor laughed. "It's true, then, you've gone ‘vegan', so to speak?"

The patient looked at the doctor like he was Jekyll gone all Hyde-ee.

The doctor raised a brow. "No, then? Well, I'm glad to hear it! So I'm guessing you having fallen for that girl is just a rumor too?" The doctor didn't wait for an answer; he just walked over to the couple.

Not knowing what else to do, the patient followed haltingly.

"Good evening!" the doctor said to the couple. They ignored him. He smiled. Then he grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her from her beau's embrace.

"Hey!" protested the young man. Then he saw looked at the doctor — and ran screaming.

"Heh, hope you like fast food, Spike, my boy!"

The patient let out a cry of terror when he saw the doctor — or rather, the monster standing in the man's place. The monster sank its fangs into the girl's neck.

"No!" the patient cried.

The monster seemed confused, dropping the girl to the ground and spreading his hands. "Wha-at?" the monster asked, sounding annoyed.

The girl backed up and cringed against the bench.

The patient grabbed the doctor by the shoulders and threw him against the lamp post nearby. He began to pummel the monster; it hit him in the chest with a powerful fist, throwing him back.

"So. It _is_ true, then. I refused to believe the rumors until I saw for myself .... But now I know that Lilah was right. My sire _has_ fallen for the Slayer, like his grandsire before him." He brushed off his coat. "You're lucky Wolfram and Hart has plans for you, or I'd kill you myself, _traitor!_ " And he was gone, fast as a blink.

The patient turned to the fallen girl and scooped her up in his arms. She shivered in his embrace. She was bleeding, and needed a doctor, but after what just happened, he wasn't about to go back to the hospital, where other monsters might be waiting. While he stood there, trying to decide what to do next, the smell of blood hit him, hard, accompanied by an overwhelming sense of hunger. Had he ever known hunger like this? He couldn't remember. Couldn't remember who, or what, he was — and frankly, he didn't care. He only knew the smell of blood was so strong he could practically taste it. _Needed_ to taste it. Without even thinking about it, he brought the girl's neck to his lips ....

 

CCCCCCCC

"Cerbie!" a young girl whispered as the dog came closer, still following the scent.

He stopped, realising that this human seemed familiar too.

‘Don't tell Buffy I'm following her, please!"

**Tell who what?**

Dawn smiled. "I knew you'd be on my side! You can help me trail them!" She went on to tell him about something called a Slayer-in-waiting. The little dog had no idea what she was talking about, but decided to accompany her back the way he'd come. Maybe he would get some answers. Better, maybe she would feed him. He was getting hungrier and hungrier ....

 

SPSPSPSPSP

His hunger somewhat sated, the John Doe pulled his lips away from the girl's wounded neck. She was just unconscious, still breathing, he noted with relief, which then gave way to horror. What was he doing?!?

"SPIKE!"

He looked up, into the eyes of a girl so beautiful that she took his breath away.

Except, he realised now, he hadn't _been_ breathing in the first place. He cringed at the revulsion he found in her eyes. How must he look to her, holding another girl in his arms, one who bled from the neck, and him with blood on his lips?

BBBBBBBBBB

"No ...." Buffy breathed. She felt Giles lay a hand on her shoulder, steadying her, but for once his strength didn't help.

This couldn't be happening. Spike didn't have a soul to lose. He had nothing to change him from good to evil with the flip of a switch.

Oh, wait. He did. Somehow the chip must have been deactivated.

But she had come to believe that it wouldn't matter if that happened someday, that he loved her enough to not feed whether the chip was there or not. Seeing him like this, Buffy felt like she'd died again — Spike might as well have just ripped her still-beating heart from her chest. She prayed that she would wake up any second now. Then again, that probably wouldn't help, since her nightmares were often prophetic.

"Spike ..." she breathed, "we never even really had a chance, did we?" She should have known better than to believe.

 

WWWWWWW

"That's it! I have it!" Willow smiled at her lover, squeezing her hand. The light of the swirling portal reflected off her now-black eyes with an eerie light. She moved towards it.

Tara grabbed her arm. "Wait, you don't know where it goes!"

Willow laughed. "I cast it to open up to the park. The only way to see if it worked is to go through." And so she plunged through the gate.

There was nothing for Tara to do but follow.

  
  
SJSJSJSJSJSJSJ

Shelly heard something out in the field by the trailer park. She headed towards the sound, Kira's unpracticed footfalls making it harder to hear it as the girl followed behind. Shelly bit back a hiss of irritation and hoped that whatever they were trailing wasn't scared off by the other girl.

She needn't have worried. They were only a few feet away, yet the twosome in the tall grass seemed oblivious to everything but themselves and the swirling light in front of them. A light within which they suddenly disappeared.

And Shelly followed, leaving Kira behind.

  
  
BBBBBBBBBB

As Buffy watched, Giles seeming as transfixed as she, the air a dozen feet or so behind Spike beginning to shimmer and swirl. After a moment, Willow and Tara stepped out of it — a strange girl following after.

"SPIKE!" cried a familiar teen voice.

Buffy whirled, and found Dawn and Cerberus. " _Dawn!_ What are you doing here?!"

Sudden motion distracted Buffy before Dawn could answer; looking back towards Spike and the portal, Buffy saw the stranger charge Spike with a guttural cry, brandishing a tazer. Spike laid the victim down and dodged the necomer's swing. He ran around her, away from the crowd and towards the light. The girl grabbed him by the coat and hit him with the tazer. He cried out in pain, then backhanded her. She fell like a rock.

SPSPSPSPSP

Spike's memory came back.

With a rush, he understood what was going on. The girl with the tazer, he'd met in the alley, where she'd first hit him with it. He'd been knocked out and must have been mistaken for dead, the authorities sending him to the morgue.

That's where his old friend Lawrence — his progeny — had found him. The good doctor had taken him out to feed. And he _did_ feed. The chip must have been fried by the tazer.

And so Buffy had _seen_ him feed.

Once upon a time, he would have been overjoyed that the chip was deactivated; now? Nothing could have been further from the truth. He'd seen her face when she'd seen him feeding just now — how could he overcome that? Even if she could forgive him because of the meomory loss, how could she ever fully trust him again without that leash, that guarantee? He couldn't even trust himself! He'd give anything to have the chip working again, for him as much as her!

Unable to face her again, he ran on, through the circle of light. It closed behind him.

WWWWWWW

Willow and Tara stood gawking while all this was happening, but when the portal disappeared, they snapped to their senses. Tara ran to the side of the victim, while Willow went to check on the girl who'd come through the portal with them. Who was she, Willow wondered?

Giles walked over. "I think we've found the other Slayer-in-Waiting ...."

"The what?" Willow asked.

He quickly explained while they tried to revive the fallen women.

"Buffy!" Willow heard Dawn plead, "Tell me it's not true, it _can't_ be true!" Willow saw Dawn holding her sister's arm in what looked like a death-grip, tears of fear and frustration streaming down her face.

"It is, Dawn. We all knew it could happen someday. Spike's chip doesn't work anymore." Willow knew her best friend well enough to know that, calm as she looked, Buffy was struggling to keep herself serene, was fighting to keep the tremble from her lip and her eyes dry for Dawn's sake. The Slayer couldn't meet her sister's eyes, though, staring where the portal was long gone, Spike with it. "And now I have to kill him."

  
  
LLLLLLLLLL

Lawrence watched everything from the shadows, grinning. He'd hidden close by after he'd left Spike, wanting to see what the vamp would do next. It looked like Spike wasn't so far gone after all. At the very least, the Slayer had it in for him. Lawrence still didn't understand why Spike had attacked him; maybe hunger had driven him mad, and he was demanding first dibs on the food. Well, it was his right, being the sire, after all.

It was funny: Lawrence had always scoffed at Dru's insistence on fates and spirits and destiny. But surely it was kismet that his sire would appear in the morgue of his own hospital? Wolfram and Hart's seers must have known Spike would be brought in. And now, because Lawrence had taken him out to feed, Spike's relationship with the Slayer had been compromised. His assignment to bring his sire onto the team had just gotten a whole lot easier.

 

KKKKKKKKK

Kira spent a few minutes trying to muster up the courage to follow her friend. What if Shelly had gotten fried by the swirling light? It wouldn't exactly do any good to get fried along with her. And it wasn't like Kira was any help in the fighting department. No, really, the only reason there was to go through was to make sure Shell was okay.

Kira realised that was reason enough.

Unfortunately, she wasn't able to do anything about it. At the precise moment she was going to step into the swirling light, she was knocked backwards by someone coming out of it.

She picked herself up and looked where the portal had been, just seconds before the man had run into her, and saw that it was gone. She turned and spotted the man running towards her home. Well, she couldn't do anything about Shelly being gone, but maybe she could do some work on her own end ....

  
  
SPSPSPSPSP

Spike found a trailer that looked to be empty. He couldn't go inside without an invite, but he could hide under it, and did. He breathed an unnecessary sigh of relief.

What was he going to do? Now that he had a moment to think, he couldn't _stop_ thinking. Buffy surely thought he'd gone evil, and whatever doubts she might have would certainly be chased off by the Scoobies. It hurt to think, after all they had been through together, that they would be so quick to think he'd gone evil again, but he had to be realistic. They had every reason to assume that it was only the chip that had made him good. And maybe they weren't wrong: he didn't have any moral quandries over the idea of drinking a human any more than most people had in eating a burger, or even a vegan had in eating a piece of celery. Everything had to eat. Still, for the sake of Buffy and his human friends, Spike would stick to drinking pig's blood, only taking human blood if and when it was offered and not enough to kill (unless, of course, the human in question was a murderer). At any rate, as far as Spike was concerned, the lack of a chip was a non-issue. But how to get the others to see that?

  
  
KKKKKKKKK

Kira saw the man slip under Shelly's trailer. Was he just a man, though? Or was he a demon? Had he tracked Shelly down, or was this just coincidence? Kira parked herself around the corner of a trailer across the way. No point in rushing in and getting herself killed, when she could just as easily keep an eye on him, and be alive to warn Shelly when she came back.

 _If_ she came back ....

 

BBBBBBBBBBB

Buffy listened as Giles talked to the new girl, but she didn't really pay attention. She'd heard the whole "Slayer's calling, blah, blah, blah" bit before. She noticed vaguely that her sister, Dawn, did not seem at all happy. She wondered which upset the girl more, the fact that she had turned out to _not_ be a Slayer-in-Waiting after all, or the fact that Spike had turned out to be the evil thing they had long thought him to be.

Not for the first time in her life, Buffy wondered how she could be such a fool. It wasn't like Spike had a soul, even if he had presented her with a pretty convincing argument. Back then, she had wanted to meet this "Lydia", who'd convinced him that he had a choice, and thank the girl. Now, she wanted to beat the tar out of Lydia for getting her hopes up.

Why did she want to cry right now? Why was she so upset over learning what she really already knew about him? How had she forgotten in the first place? She thought of the enemy he had started out as, and the friend it seemed he had become. It boggled her mind, trying to think of her self of the past, and what that self would think of her now. Back then, the thought of Spike becoming her boyfriend — hell, even just a friend — was an extreme non-possibility. When had all that changed? _How_ had it changed? This sick feeling she had now in her stomach _should_ have been over he idea of _ever_ thinking of him romantically. Something akin to how she'd felt after kissing him, back when Willow had cast that crazy spell that had made them want to get married. But now the feeling was of grief, not disgust. She felt more like she did when Angel became Angelus, after they'd made love. And here she hadn't done anything more than _kiss_ Spike.

She was just going to have to try really hard to remember why she'd once wanted to stake him. Except that it seemed like all those evil things he'd done had happened to someone else. Were _done_ by someone else. Neither of them were who they once had been. Except, now apparently Spike _was_.

Buffy was getting a headache. She wished Willow were there, but the witch and her lover had taken the Spike's victim to the hospital ....

 

TTTTTTTTTT

"How are you feeling, Laticia?" Tara asked.

Ticia, it turned out, had been an acquaintance of Willow's, having attended Sunnydale High, and knew about vampires and the like. The young woman, a bandage on her neck, drew her legs close, hugging her knees. She shrugged, and tried to smile with eyes full of shock and fear. "The doctor says I'll be ok."

Willow smiled kindly and patted Ticia's hand. "We know what the doctor says. We're asking about _you_ ...."

Ticia tried to smile bravely, nodding her head in a motion that was nearly reassuring. "I'm good, really. I'm not dead, so I can't complain. The doctor says I didn't lose a lot of blood. Which I guess was lucky, since there were two of them!" She giggled, somewhat hysterically.

"Two?" Tara and Willow asked simultaneously.

"Yeah. It's funny — at first it seemed like the second one was _saving_ me from the first vamp. They had this weird arguement — I didn't really understand it — and then the first one left. I actually thought the other one was going to take me to the hospital, but then he suddenly bit me too."

 

CCCCCCCCCC

When Spike's memory had been restored, Cerberus had gotten his back as well. Now, the vamp dog sat staring where the portal had been, and whined. What was he going to do? How could he convince the others that Spike hadn't gone bad? Everyone was so wrapped up in their own thoughts that no one was hearing him or paying him any mind. And if they were so keen on staking a chipless Spike, maybe reminding them about a vampire dog with no chip at _all_ wasn't a good idea. Humans seemed quick to judge and quick to act, and they apparently believed it was easy to turn on your friends in a snap. (Perhaps because they seemed so quick to do that themselves?)

Having decided that being with them wasn't the safest thing for him at the moment, he had to then decide where to go. Unfortunately, he seemed to be out of range of the telepathic gift he shared with Spike. The vampman could be anywhere; where should he start looking? He glanced behind him, and found the way blocked by Buffy, Giles, Dawn, and the new girl. He looked ahead and sighed, walking off in the direction the portal had been in, even if going that way could no longer take him where he wanted to go.

 

LALALALALA

"Sunnydale Police Department."

"Yes, may I speak to Lieutenant Devonshire, please?"

"One moment."

If Lawrence had had to breathe, he would have been holding his breath in anticipation. He smiled with boyish glee when he finally heard the Lieutenant on the line."Devonshire."

"It's Lawrence. I need you to gather up our loyal troops and put out an APB ...."

 

GGGGGGGG

"So yer sayin' I'm a runner-up for the title of ‘Chosen One', and I have to train under _you_ now, is that it?" Shelly's features were unreadable. She might as well have been simply telling them what time it was.

"Well ... yes, that about sums it up, actually," Giles answered.

"You and what army?"

"... C-come again?"

"I'm saying, what're ya gonna do if I don't wanna to play by your rules? I've been doin' just fine all on my own — I don't see as what _you_ could have ta teach me."

Giles put on his glasses, which he had been cleaning in an unconscious gesture of agitation. "Now see here! I don't think you realize just wh—"

She held out a stake, dull end first, to him. "See this? See each of the marks on it?" He looked closely, and saw countless notches in its sides. "Each notch is a dead vampire. I think I've got plenty of field experience. If your Watcher Council wanted me trained, they waited a bit long to _find_ me!"

With that, Shelly turned on her heel and left.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" Dawn asked Giles.

He didn't answer. He knew he should, but the girl reminded him so much of Buffy when they had first met. He didn't know if he could go through it again, help the Powers That Be ruin yet another life ....

 

HHHHHHHHH

Mrs Habersham was a busybody. The trailer park she lived in was the perfect place for her kind, full of white trash gossip about who was cheating on whom. But the house she kept the biggest eye on was the one she _never_ talked about — not yet. No one would believe her, so she waited patiently for proof.

Which was why she'd called the cops tonight.

She always knew that Shelly Johnson girl was a troublemaker, coming home in the wee hours of the morning all the time. The girl wasn't old enough to be going to some late-night job, like her tramp of a mother.

Some might think, when Mrs. Habersham saw that shady-looking man sneaking under the Johnson trailer, that she'd called the police to help Shelly. But She knew Shelly wasn't home. No, she was thinking that, if the police came to arrest the man, they might find something _else_ under the trailer — _drugs_ , maybe. And Mrs Habersham would be the first to know ....

 

DEDEDEDEDE

When Devonshire heard the call come in about suspicious activity in the Sunnydale Trailer Park, he decided to go out and investigate it himself. If the intruder was the man Lawrence was looking for, he couldn't risk losing him. And besides, given where he was going, maybe he would get to see his little girl ....

 

DSDSDSDSDS

As Dawn watched Shelly walk away, she felt an odd mix of satisfaction and disappointment. With the girl gone, she might convince Giles, Spike, and Buffy to let her continue her own training. Just because she wasn't a Slayer-in-Waiting didn't mean that she couldn't still use the lessons. Her sister _was_ the Slayer, after all, magnet for trouible, and they did live on the Hellmouth. But, as much as she had resented the idea of someone else taking her place, she had found herself liking the girl, once she'd met her. What if they _had_ both been Slayers-in-Waiting? It would have been nice to have someone more her own age to hang out with and train alongside, someone who knew about demons and other things that went bump and killed people in the night.

Meanwhile, Dawn was also upset about the whole situation with Spike, to be sure, but only because she was afraid for him, and what Buffy and the other Scoobies would do to him if they caught him. She didn't believe he'd gone evil, and trusted him with her life. Now she just had to remind her sister that she had very recently done the same.

And then Dawn noticed: Cerberus wasn't anywhere around. Where had he gone?

 

TTTTTTTTT

"I just don't get it," Willow pondered aloud as she and Tara made their way home from the hospital. "Why was he hanging out with that other vampire in the first place, if he hasn't gone all evil? Why did he bite that girl at all?"

Tara nodded; she was having a hard time wrapping her brain around it too. "I feel like there's something important that we don't know. I don't think we should jump to any conclusions until we _do_ know. Maybe Cerberus can give us more insight when he comes back home. In the meantime, we can try a scry-"

"WILLOW! TARA!" Xander ran to them from across the street, Anya in tow, panic in his eyes. "Dawn is gone!" he panted. "She-"

"It's ok, Xander, she's with Buffy and Giles," Tara comforted him.

"THANK GOD! I was worried half to death something might happen to her! I'm gonna kill her when she comes home ...."

Anya shook her head. "I told you not to get so upset! She's been training to be a Slayer; she can take care of herself! Honestly, between you, Spike, Giles, and Buffy, you guys are going to suffocate the girl. Now let's go home and have sex, since they don't need us to babysit anymore."

 

DEDEDEDE

Devonshire walked up to the trailer in question. He knew from previous visits exactly where to find it. His feet made no sound; he was too good at what he did for that. He heard a gasp from the trailer across the way, but ignored it.

"Heya, Pop. Is this business, or a social visit?"

He turned, trying to keep the pride off his face. He had heard Kira approach, but not Shelly. Someone else was good at what they did, too. "Hi, sweetie. Actually, it _is_ business, I'm afraid." He dropped to the ground, reached under the trailer, and dragged a black leather coat out from under it. The coat's occupant struggled for a moment, until it saw the uniform. Then it looked confused.

"Sweetie, yer getting' a bit lax, here, ar'ncha? I mean, for there to be a _vampire_ under yer trailer ...."

"Give me a break, Dad, I wasn't even home! Kira saw him, though, and came ta get me. I'll take care of 'im." She pulled a stake out of her pocket. "After I take care of you." She lunged at the cop.

She was too slow.

Devonshire leapt to the side, dragging his quarry with him. He hurried over to where Kira was hiding and grabbed her. He held her in front of him, like a shield. "Ah, ah, ah, what did I tell you about playing nice, Shelly? Now drop the stake!"

 

SPSPSPSPSP

Spike wasn't sure of what to do. On the one hand, there was the girl he'd seen on the other side of the portal, standing before him again, brandishing a stake that he was relatively certain she knew how to use. On the other, he was being held by a vampire dressed as a cop and holding a human hostage. What did this vamp want with him? Was it better to wait and see how things played out, or to kill the vamp now while the guy was distracted?

"Dr. Lawrence is looking for you," the vamp told him, and let go.

That decided him: if he was going to get any answers, he was going to have to play along. He moved towards the girl with the stake. He didn't want to hurt her, but he was going to have to knock her out, get her out of the game.

"I don't think so, pal!!" she growled, easily evading him.

Okay, maybe he had to rethink this.

"Forget her, she won't hurt us while I have her friend. Let's just go," Devonshire said, dragging the other girl along.

SJSJSJSJSJSJ

"KIRA!" Shelley cried, for the first time in a long while uncertain what to do. If she made a move, her father would snap Kira's neck in a second. It didn't really matter that he wouldn't have a shield anymore if he did that; he was a vampire and enjoyed killing as a matter of course. And truth be told, Shelly didn't think she had it in her to dust her father; that was why he was still "alive" in the first place. She just stood there, feeling helpless as she watched the monsters take her friend away.

 

BBBBBBBBB

Dawn and Buffy walked home in silence. Buffy kept telling herself that the only reasons she wasn't tracking Spike down that very moment was that it was getting late, so he'd be going to ground anyway, and she needed to get her sister home. She wouldn't admit, even in her own thoughts, that she dreaded finding him and what she had to do. That she wasn't even sure that she _could_ do it. So she played the "lateness" excuse in her head like a mantra, right up until they reached the house.

She was about to put her key in the lock when the door opened.

"Buffy! Thank god you're home!" Willow grabbed her arm and pulled her inside. Then the witch looked around, out the door. "Where's Cerbie?"

Dawn answered, "I dunno. He disappeared while we were talking to Shelly."

"No! We _need_ him! AGH! Tara, what do we do now?"

"Well, wherever he is, the sun's almost up — he'll have to hide for the day, and we all need some sleep. Let's just show Buffy what we found out, and then get to bed."

"Show me what?" Buffy asked as they dragged her into their room.

The witches settled Buffy and Dawn done on the bed, then putzed around on their makeshift altar. Willow drew down the widow screen, and suddenly images appeared on it. Buffy looked back at the altar, and saw a light shining from a crystal there onto the screen.

"Cool! Can I use that thing at my next sleepover?" Dawn asked.

Tara shushed her gently and told the sisters to watch the screen.

They saw Spike and Cerberus getting ice cream, then have a run-in with some demons and Shelly. They saw Shelly hit him with her tazer. Spike woke up in the morgue. There was sound, too: as they listened, Buffy realised that Spike seemed very disoriented. The doctor came in; the man seemed to know Spike, but Spike didn't seem to recognise the doctor in turn. They saw the doctor take him to the park, heard their exchange. Saw them fight, and the doc lose. Saw Spike lift Laticia into his arms — and, after several long moments of him looking around, seeming worried and thoughtful, saw him suddenly get an almost lustful look and bite the girl. A minute or so later, Buffy and Giles arrived.

When she had lived through the events the first time, Buffy had thought Spike's expression was just alarm at having been caught. But from this angle, it seemed that he'd looked that way before he'd even realised that Buffy was there, that what he really had been was horrified at what he had _done_. Was she just reaching? Did that crystal thing have a rewind?

"This is why we need Cerberus!" Willow told her, as if reading her mind. "It sounds to me like Spike had amnesia from that blow to the head with the tazer! I bet it deactivated his chip, too! If we had Cerbie here, we could know for sure, through the psychic link they have ...."

Things clicked into place for Buffy — and, apparently, her sister: "Oh! That was why Cerbie was acting so weird!" they said in tandem.

"Yeah, when I saw Cerbie, he was all ‘You talkin' ta me?'" Buffy elaborated.

"And when I asked him not to tell Buffy I was following, he said ‘Tell who what?'" Dawn chimed in excitedly. "I thought he was just saying it one of those, 'what secret' sort of ways, but I guess he really didn't know what I was talking about!"

"Hey, that's right, you snuck out of the house!" Buffy realised. "You're grounded, missy!"

"Guys! Worry about that later!" Willow waved a hand to get their attention. "So you're saying Cerbie seemed like he had amnesia? That settles it, then! Spike must have lost his memory from the shock of the tazer, and then Cerbie got amnesia too, from their psychic link!"

Buffy smiled and hugged Willow. It amazed her, how relieved she was to learn that Spike wasn't evil after all — he'd simply forgotten that he was good! Hell, it seemed he hadn't entirely forgotten, either — he'd saved Leticia at first, and had just been overcome by his vampire instinct. Hopefully the chip was working again, but even if it wasn't, with his memory returned, surely he could resist that instinct! Maybe WIllow and Tara could find some way to help him in that regard as well. At any rate, now that she knew she wouldn't have to kill him, she could rest at least a little easier until nightfall, when it was safe to bring him home.

Well, at least she _would_ have rest easy, if not for the guilt of having doubted him in the first place.

 

SPSPSPSPSPSP

"So where're we goin', mate?" Spike asked.

"I told you, to see Lawrence."

"What does he want with me?"

Devonshire shrugged. "I don't ask; I just follow orders."

They sat in awkward silence for a while in the squad car, as the Lieutenant drove. Well, silent save for the screeching of the girl in the back seat.

"So tell me something, Spike."

Spike could tell Devonshire had been itching to ask him something for a while. He nodded in encouragement; anything the cop said might bring him closer to his own answers.

"What was up with you fighting other vamps and working with the Slayer?"

Spike snorted. "And who told you I was doin' that?"

"Aw, c'mon now, man. I've _seen_ you two together, seen you kick our people's asses. Did you get a soul, like Angelus? I bet that's why the bosses want ya, huh?"

"Bosses? Which bosses would that be, mate?"

Devonshire barked a laugh. "Wolfram and Hart! How else would there be vampires working in the police department and at a hospital?"

 

SJSJSJSJSJSJ

Shelly sat on her bed, weeping. She'd failed. She'd failed before, but it had never cost the life of a friend. Was Kira still alive? Was she still human? If only she had killed that vamp in the alley when she'd had a chance. If only she had killed her father, back when he had first been turned. She could still see the night it had happened, as fresh in her mind as it was a year ago.

A scratch at the door broke her thoughts. When she opened it, she found a dog sitting on the aluminum stair, watching her intently, its tail still.

"Well, hey there, boy! What're ya doin' here?" She knelt down and scratched it behind the ears, her hand slowing as she realised she'd seen him before. This was the dog she'd seen with the Slayer! "What, are ya bringin' a message to me? Slayer fall down a well?" She moved aside. "Come on in, boy. I suppose I have some beef jerky around."

The dog rushed in. **That's kind of you, but I'm more interested in finding my friend.**

Shelly stuck her head out the door, looking for the speaker.

**Down here.** She looked down at the dog, who'd started wagging its tail. **Yes, that's right. A talking dog. Vampires are real, why not talking dogs?**

 

SPSPSPSPSP

Devonshire pulled the squad car up a long drive, parking it outside of a mansion that seemed right out of _Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous._ When he opened the rear door, Kira tried to make a break for it, but couldn't get far with the handcuffs around her wrists and ankles. Devonshire slung her over his shoulder and made his way to the door, Spike following. An underling led them to Lawrence's study, where the doctor was entertaining a human woman.

"Ah! You found him! Excellent!" The doctor gestured to Spike. "Lilah, I want you to meet my sire, William the Bloody, better known as Spike."

The woman stood and sauntered over to the bleach blond vamp. She practically reeked of smug satisfaction, almost as much as she did of some expensive cologne. She held out a hand. Spike just stared at it, keeping his face unreadable. Lilah stiffened for a moment, obviously offended, but played it cool.

"I've read a lot about you. Word is you've bagged two Slayers, but seem to be off your game with Buffy."

Spike suspected his past reputation was why Wolfram and Hart had an interest in him. He had spent the trip over coming up with a cover story for his recent behavior. It wouldn't do for such dangerous enemies to believe he'd gone good, but he reckoned they knew about his chip, due to their interactions with the Initiative ....

He smiled, bored. "I guess I could see why you'd think that."

"Well, let's see. You kill demons," she ticked it off on her fingers, "you kill other vampires; you threatened your long-time love, Drucilla; and you've saved Buffy and her friends on more than one occasion. Yeah, I'd say it looks like you've switched sides. I think you need a lawyer to get you out of this one."

He raised a brow. "If you're offering, I'm not buying," he sneered. "Do you know why I kill Slayers?"

Lilah shrugged. "To prove you're the Big Bad? Because all demons hate the Slayer?"

"Because it's _fun_. Because I'm _immortal!_ What else can I do to entertain myself? Why do people go bungee-jumping, or skydiving? Because the chance to die makes life more exciting! But Buffy is different from the other Slayers. She has a life outside this job of hers." He started to saunter back and forth. "You know, I learned a lot from Angelus, but the most important thing he taught me? Was that, to really kill a woman, soul as well as body, you have to _love_ her. For a long time, I didn't understand that, but I've learned to savour my kills as I've matured, and I've decided that his suggestion is the best way of all to do that."

" _I_ think the reason you haven't killed her is because you can't kill her with that chip in your head."

He stopped, eying her for a moment, a wry smile on his lips. "You're right. I can't kill her — or at least, I _couldn't_ kill her, until last night. But the chip doesn't work anymore. Now I _can_ — and anyone _else_ I want to." He began his predatory pacing anew. "I stayed with her these long months because it was fun, messing with her head. It was a thrill, wondering if she would finally break and kill me. And if I could feel her fire other ways ...." He eyed Lilah up and down, licking his lips. "I'd get all the fun out of ‘er I could. And I figured _some_ day I would be free of this chip." As quick as a blink, he was across the room and had Lilah by the throat, against the wall. "Someday I'd be able to sink my teeth into ‘er sweet li'l neck ...." He vamped out and brought his fangs against her neck a moment. "And I'd get to see the ‘urt, the betrayal in ‘er eyes as she died."

He let go of her and started pacing again. "But first I'd kill each of ‘er friends, and make her wonder how they died. Make ‘er go mad trying to find out. See the horror in ‘er eyes when she finally learned it was _me_ , and that they died because she didn't kill me when she'd 'ad the chance." He leaned against the wall, giving his audience an evil smile.

"Hah! See, I _knew_ he couldn't have gone soft!" Lawrence was like a kid at Christmas.

Lilah had recovered quickly, and was giving Spike a cool smile. "So why kill demons? Why refuse to eat last night, and attack Lawrence here?"

Spike shrugged. "Hafta get m'rocks off some'ow, ey? ‘Sides, it keeps me in ‘er good graces, lets me get _closer_ to ‘er, ‘er thinkin' I'm on ‘er side. As for last night ... that's why I can kill ‘er now. I was in a fight, see, when this lil' bit zaps me, right ‘ere. " He pointed to the back of his neck. "Had a bit of amnesia or somethin', didn't know who or what I was. But I do now."

"Do you?" Lilah raised a brow. "Then kill that girl you brought here."

"No!" Devonshire protested. "She's mine!"

"Now Lieutenant, this is no way to treat our guest," Lawrence reprimanded him.

"But she's a friend of my daughter! I want to make a gift of her to Shelly, for when I turn her!"

Lawrence sighed. Spike remembered that this one was always a man of manners and propriety — traits that could work to Spike's advantage.

"Let ‘im keep the girl, Lawrence. She's not the only human in the room." He moved towards Lilah.

"Ah, never mind about the killing," Lilah backpedaled, putting her hands up defensively. "We know you bit that girl in the park, so it's really a moot point. What I really wanted to see was whether your chip was still out of commission."

Spike frowned. "Why wouldn't it be?" And he hit her, square in the jaw.

Lilah fell back against the chair behind her. She glared up at the bleached vamp, nursing a bleeding lip. Spike was obviously not in pain.

When she caught her breath, she answered him, "Well, the short-circuit might only be temporary. You could be feeding, and suddenly find yourself with your brain fried. What I'm offering you is a chance to be rid of it, once and for all."

He eyed her warily. "I'm listening ...."

 

BBBBBBBBB

"C'mon, Buff, ya gotta eat something ...."

Buffy sighed, pushing food around her plate. "Eating is something you do when all's right with the world, Willow. And in case you missed it? Things are most definitely _not_ all right. Spike's who knows where, either completely confused and alone or else thinking we all _hate_ him."

Guilt was a great appetite suppressant. Despite her guilt, though, Buffy had at least gotten a semi-decent day's sleep, once the worry of whether Spike had gone evil again had passed. But waking up brought another realisation: even if, as Willow suspected, he'd got his memory back with Shelly's second attack, by the portal, he still might not come home, might _hide_ from them, if he thought that _they_ thought he was evil again.

And now she had a headache.

She also had an idea.

"There is something you _can_ do for me though, Will ...."

Willow smiled what Buffy affectionately thought of as the girl's "spunky smile", all stiff upper lip and the lot. "Anything, Buffy, whatever I can do to help!"

"Good." Buffy grabbed the witch's arm and started to drag her out of the kitchen, towards the stairs. "Set up that crystal thing again, so we can find Spike."

Willow stopped cold. "Oh ... Buffy, I'm sorry, I can't!"

Buffy stared at her best friend, hurt and surprised. "What? But Willow, I thought you thought he was really innocent!" Buffy heard footsteps coming down the hall just then, and for a moment thought it was Spike, but it didn't sound like his gait. "We have to find him," she went on, "and tell him that we know he's not evil, that we want him to come home!"

"And when exactly did we reach _that_ conclusion, Holmes?" Xander asked from the doorway before Willow could answer. "You really need to learn to lock your front door, Buffster," he added.

"Willow has a magic crystal!"

Xander gave her a wry smile. "Willow has a _lot_ of magic crystals, Buffybot." He winked.

Buffy smacked him on the arm. "This is serious! Her crystal told us what had really happened to Spike! He hasn't gone evil on us after all!"

Xander blinked. "Wait, when did Spike go evil? Er, I mean, not that I didn't _always_ think he was evil, but when did he go — I mean, when did we _think_ he went _back_ to the 'being with Drusilla' kind of evil instead of just the pain-in-my-ass variety?"

Buffy didn't follow that very well, and consequently latched onto one word in Xander's ramble. "You've seen him with _Drusilla_??"

Xander scratched his head. "Is this a trick question? I mean, yeah, I've seen him with Dru. Or do you mean lately?"

"Buffy, Xander has no idea what's going on -- we didn't get a chance to tell him. Xander, we found Spike feeding on Leticia James last night -- she's fine, though!" she added hurriedly when Xander started to swear. "But Spike ran off, so after we talked to Leticia, Tara and I used a scrying spell to find out what happened to him in the first place."

"Spike was attacked last night by a girl with a tazer," Buffy went on. "It messed with his chip and gave him amnesia. He actually _saved_ Leticia from _another_ vampire, first — we think the smell of her blood then overwhelmed him into feeding."

"Amnesia, huh? Are you sure he hasn't just been watching too much _Passions_?" Xander asked dryly, then laughed. "Don't worry, Buffy. If those soap operas plots are any indication, when Spike sees you again, you'll make him remember how good he really is, and he'll get back together with you and you'll live happily ever after and oh my _god_ is that disgusting!"

Buffy grinned. "Thanks, Xander, I needed that." She turned to Willow, growing serious. "So tell me why we can't use the crystal to see where he is now?"

 

CCCCCCCCCC

It eventually occurred to Cerberus that, if the girl form the alley had arrived through the same portal Spike had left through, maybe the girl would return to where she came from. She was long gone by then, but he found and followed her trail. And the plan worked. When he arrived at the trailer park, Cerberus had found Spike' scent -- and felt a slight tickle form his bond! But the trail ended quickly; Spike had either used another portal or gotten into a car. There had been a few other scents around, and signs of a struggle. Two other beings had left with Spike, their scents stopping in the same area. The scent of the girl who had followed Spike, though, continued into a trailer. Knowing that the sun was going to be up soon, Cerberus had decided to see if the girl would help him.

She'd let him in, and a quick conversation revealed that Spike had indeed left in a car -- along with this girl Shelly's vampire father, and her best friend. By then, it was almost morning, too late to go looking for them, so he ended up telling the girl his life story, hoping to gain her trust.

Shelly nodded; she'd been an appreciative audience, hanging on to his every word.

"So you're telling me that not all vampires are evil?" she asked skeptically.

He huffed. **You knew that already; you'd heard of Angel before!**

"Yeah, but Angel has a _soul_. And I've heard stories of William the Bloody, too — I don't recollect _him_ goin' good in any of 'em."

**But you knew about him attacking other demons and allying himself with the Slayer!**

"That doesn't prove anything, except that maybe the Slayer's a total sap — and that means Angel may not be so angelic either. In fact, I'm kinda wondering why I don't just stake _you_ right here and now." Except that she didn't make a move for her stake.

**Because you want to find your friend and, with my nose and my link to Spike, I can lead you to them.**

" _If_ I trust you."

**I don't see as you have much of a choice.**

"So why me? Why not just go after them on your own, or get the Slayer to go with you?"

He lowered his head. **I don't think she would trust me right now, and I don't dare risk doing this alone. If there's one thing a dog knows, it's that the hunt goes better in a pack.** She stared at him for a painfully long time before muttering to herself, "I can't believe I'm listening to a _dog_. A _vampire_ dog, at that. And here I am, a Vampire-Slayer-in-Waiting, with a vampire for a father." She sighed. "Just when exactly did my life get so strange?

 

SPSPSPSPSPSP

Spike knew he should be sleeping, but he was restless. Oh sure, he had no decisions to make, no hard choices — he knew what he wanted. He was just worried that he might not _get_ it. The hours that ticked by were worse than any torture he'd every known. He wanted this day to come and _go_ , already!

He could feel Cerberus in his mind, faintly, but the dog was too far away, or else was refusing to answer. In any case, he didn't seem to be getting any closer.

Lilah told him that Wolfram and Hart wanted him to infiltrate Angel Investigations and kill off all of its members. They would even remove the chip first, to ensure that he could complete the task. But they needed a gesture of faith on his part before sending him off on such an important mission, something to prove that he wouldn't just walk off, chipless -- or worse, aid Angel instead. If he killed the Slayer, that would be all the gesture they needed to trust him with the task in question: it would be in his own best interest to then kill Angel, before the souled vamp found out about the Slayer's death at Spike's hands. Once he killed Angel and company, Spike could consider himself on the payroll, if he wanted, do jobs here and there and live in the lap of luxury, with all the pretty young things he could eat. Lilah even hinted that there were ways he could climb up the corporate ladder, if he impressed her.

The night could not come fast enough.

 

BBBBBBBBBBB

"I can't believe you used that thing to find out what happened with Spike! Why don't you use it to learn the _winning lotto numbers??_ "

Willow took a book and whacked Xander on the head with it.

"Hey!" Anya protested. "Don't damage my merchandise!" she scolded the witch, oblivious to the meaningful look Willow was giving the both of them, gesturing to Buffy.

Buffy was almost as oblivious to all of them as she stared at the book in front of her on her kitchen table, lost in thought.

The crystal, Willow had explained, was a one-shot deal, and it had cut out on them before revealing where Spike had ended up. Now all they could do was wait and pray he came home. Willow had then borrowed some books from The Magic Box, in hopes that they might find another spell in them that they could find him with. Buffy wanted to go out on patrol, to fight off some of the edginess she was feeling, but she didn't want to miss Spike if he came home that night. She had already checked out his crypt a short while ago —- he hadn't been there. Where had he ended up? Had he found a place to hide for the day, safe from sunlight?

When had she started to care so much?

When the kitchen phone rang, it startled her nearly out of her chair. Dawn, teenager that she was, was the first one to reach it, even though she had been in the living room. "Spike!" she cried, a smile lighting her face.

Buffy stood, knocking her chair over as she did.

"Spike, we know you aren't evil! Please say you're coming home!" Dawn pleaded.

 

SPSPSPSPSP

Spike was speechless for a moment. He expected the others to hate him, after what he had done. A wave of gratitude for the girl's enthusiasm washed over him, promptly followed by one of guilt. That they thought he was good just made what he had to do that much harder.

"Dawn, I need to talk to the Slayer." He winced at that. He had to force himself to call her by her real name, rather than call her "Nibblet", or refer to Buffy as "Big Sis".

"Oh .... O-okay, let me get her." The disappointment in her voice broke his dead heart.

"Spike! Thank God you're all right!" He wanted to weep at the sound of Buffy's voice, at the concern he heard in it. "Where are you? Come home, please!" If Dawn had broken his heart, Buffy had turned what was left into dust, sure as if she'd staked him.

"Slayer ... I have a hostage. We're going to have it out, you and me, now that my chip isn't working anymore." His managed, somehow, to make his voice drip with menace. "If you don't come, I'm going to feed on this sweet little thing." He grabbed Kira by the hair and shoved the phone in her face. "Say hello to the Slayer, kid."

"Please, you have to help me!" the girl sobbed into the phone.

Spike put the phone back up to his ear. "Hear that, Slayer? Come to 235 Bowlingbrook Drive. You don't get here by seven, I'm having the girl for dinner." And he hung up.

"You didn't tell her to come alone ...." There was a click from behind him as Lilah hung up the extension.

Spike snorted in derision at the lawyer, making no attempt to hide the true revulsion he felt when he looked at her. "What, you afraid of the Scooby Gang?"

Lilah shrugged. "She believed you were good. It would have been easier for you to kill her if she came as a friend. Now that she thinks you're the enemy, she'll bring help and weapons. Why make it more difficult?"

Spike eyed her coldly. "So I like a challenge. How could I enjoy sneaking up on her? I want to see the pain in her eyes as she realises I've betrayed her. And if she brings the gang, I can hurt her even more as I kill them, one by one, before I put her out of her misery."

Lilah smiled appreciatively. "Niiiiiiiice. I like your style!"

He smiled back, imagining that he was separating her pretty little head from her shoulders with one of the axes on the wall.

 

BBBBBBBBBB

Buffy's hand dropped to her side, the phone sliding from her fingers and hitting the linoleum with a clatter. Her knees followed a second later. She didn't see Willow's worried face as the girl shook her shoulders, didn't hear a word she said. All she was aware of was the sudden pain in her throat, the stinging in her eyes. She vaguely became aware of a keening sound, but didn't realise it was coming from herself. She certainly didn't see the lost looks Willow shared with the rest of the Slayerettes.

 

SJSJSJSJSJSJS

The moment the sun was set, Cerberus was out Shelly's door in a flash. She ran for her bike, just barely managing to keep up with the little dog as he tore down the road towards what people in her trailer park called "Snobsville".

 

SPSPSPSPSP

Spike could suddenly feel his canine friend getting closer in his mind. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved or worried. Cerberus would allow him to communicate with Buffy without Lilah knowing — _if_ Buffy didn't think the little dog had gone evil too, that was. If she did, the canine might get staked alongside his vampman ....

 

WWWWWWW

"We'll call you when ... when we get back," Willow finished lamely. She knew how much Spike meant to Dawn, how much the girl probably wanted to come with them and see for herself what had become of him. But if they were going to have to stake him -— and it certainly was looking that way -— it would be best for her to be elsewhere. Bad enough Buffy would have to be there.

They also didn't call Giles, thinking he would go ballistic, considering his tendency towards overprotectiveness of his Slayer and ex-Slayer-in-Waiting. Unfortunately, not calling Giles meant they couldn't call Tara either, who was with Giles at the magic shop.

It also meant they couldn't send Dawn to the shop, as she had something of a big mouth and might accidentally say something incriminating in front of Giles, provided he didn't see through whatever cover story they came up with in the first place. So instead, they decided to send Dawn over to a friend's house. Willow wished they had time to _drive_ her over, but they just had to trust that she would get there safely on her own.

 

DSDSDSDSDS

"Ow!" Dawn cried as the car hit a bump. She held her breath, praying no one had heard her. Her legs ached, folded as they were and pressing against the trunk door. She was desperate to keep it both closed yet still open a crack -- if it closed completely, it would lock, and she wouldn't be able to get out. If that happened, her sister might murder Dawn's best friend. Being there to protect him was worth a little discomfort in the trunk.

 

GGGGGGGGG

"Are you sure you'll be all right alone?"

"Sure, Mr. Giles," Tara smiled. "If we get a rush, I'll call Anya on her cell phone."

Giles cleaned his glasses, muttering, "Yes, and she'll be here in two seconds flat."

Giles was supposed to train the new Slayer-in-Waiting, Shelly, but she hadn't agreed to do anything but consider it the night before, and she apparently had no phone. He was going to have to go to her place if he was going to talk to her again; he just hoped she was home.

 

BBBBBBBBBBB

Buffy was present in body only as she sat in the back seat of Xander's car, her mind lost in a dream. It was a dream she'd had when she was dead, one she'd somehow shared with Spike: in it, she'd seen his true, inner self, his soul, the very thing she'd accused him of not having, and finally believed that he did _love_ her. It was what had led her back to life. The others had no reason to believe there was anything beyond the chip that kept him on his best behavior, but, remembering the dream now, she _knew_ he wasn't evil. She trusted and loved him and was ashamed of herself for ever doubting. So what was happening now with him? She felt like her reality was crumbling down around her, leaving her trapped in a place where everything was _wrong_.

 

XXXXXXXXXX

Xander looked up every now and again in the rearview mirror, not so much to check for cars — it was a quiet night — as to check on Buffy. He would never admit it, but for all his teasing, he had actually come to like Spike. Well, maybe "like" was a strong word. "Respect" wasn't quite right either, but the point was that Spike had proven that he was on their side time and time again. Well, they thought so, anyway. Xander thought he shouldn't be surprised at this turn of events, but somehow he was. He felt betrayed. He couldn't even begin to imagine how Buffy must be feeling. He felt no desire to say he'd told her so.

 

WWWWWWW

Willow watched her friend in the side mirror. She felt like she ought to say something, but what? Sorry that your former mortal enemy turned out to be your mortal enemy still? She felt sick — they had let this monster care for Dawn and fight by their side while Buffy was "gone". When Buffy had come back and it was clear that she had brought a soft-spot for Captain Peroxide with her, Willow didn't argue. She hadn't thought there was a reason to. That was the problem — she hadn't  beenthinking. She should have known better. She was supposed to be the "brains" of the group, right? The voice of reason? Some help she was. She had actually even come to _like_ the vampire.

She wouldn't admit to herself that it had gone deeper than that, that he'd become family.

 

AAAAAAAAA

Anya stared more directly at the Slayer, lacking an understanding of the human etiquette on "worrying about a friend". She also didn't understand what was happening.

Spike had helped them. He could have abandoned them when Buffy died, but he hadn't. In fact, Anya was certain that, if he had _reaaaaaally_ wanted to, he could have killed the Scoobies at any time, and maybe Buffy too, and didn't do that either. She knew evil demons — she had spent many a lovely evening with quite a few — and Spike was not one. She wasn't about to point it out to them, but she herself was a lot more likely to kill them all than Spike. So why the sudden change, just because the chip had stopped working? The situation was only made more confusing by the things Willow's crystal had supposedly revealed (she made a mental note to charge the witch for the thing — with a discount, of course). The whole thing did not follow a logical progression — surely the others saw that?

Anya cracked under the strain of her curiosity. "Why is everyone looking like they just lost their best friend?"

"Anya!" Willow's reflection in the side-mirror gave her a horrified look, then shot Buffy a worried one.

"Spike is _not_ my best friend!" Xander protested.

 _A little too much for it not to be true,_ Anya thought with a satisfied inner smirk. "It just seems to me that we are being awfully quick to make assumptions, here. How do we know Spike isn't under a spell, or being influenced somehow by that other vampire?"

"Sweetie," Xander spoke through clenched teeth, "You seem to be forgetting that Spike is a demon! Demon equals evil, in my book."

Anya shot him a hurt look in the rearview mirror. "So nice to know what you truly think of me!"

He sighed. "Ahn, you aren't a demon anymore—"

"But I was! So you _are_ saying that I was evil once! Well like it or not, Mr. Harris, our past is always a part of who we are. I will _always_ be part demon, even if my DNA _is_ all human now. And humans aren't exactly exempt from the evil department either, for that matter, so why are you so certain they hold the trademark on being good, or that demons are nothing but evil? If beings can't change, can't make themselves into who or whatever they want, whenever they want, then what's the point of any of this? Why live? Why did we bring Buffy back?"

Buffy spoke for the first time since they'd left her house. "I wish you hadn't."

None of them said a word the rest of the trip.

 

SSSSSSSSSS

Spike spent the time after the sun set waiting for Buffy and the Scoobies on the mansion's massive porch. It was so big, it took him a full minute to pace its length and back again. Lawrence watched him with a bemused grin.

"I'd say you were nervous, if I didn't know better."

"Naw, that's the pacing of a predator anxious for the kill!" Devonshire piped up, sounding a bit defensive. (Spike had learned that he was Devonshire's grandsire; the cop apparently was in awe of the legend of William the Bloody, killer of two Slayers.) The man shook Kira for emphasis on the word "kill", and she let out a slight whimper. It was the first sound she had made in hours, having given up struggling long past.

Spike halted in his pacing, literally caught like a deer in the headlights of the car that had pulled into the drive. The end, it seemed, had arrived in the form of Xander's beat-up old car.

When _she_ got out of the back seat, Spike's undead heart skipped a beat that it was never supposed it have in the first place. He feared he would see hate there, but instead saw something that was somehow worse. Misery. The only consolation he had was that he wouldn't have to look at it much longer.

 

GGGGGGGGG

Giles spied his new Slayer-in-Waiting pedaling like a madwoman on the opposite side of the street. He would have missed her entirely, if not for the dog running before her. What was Cerberus doing with her? Willow and the others had told him that Spike was innocent of feeding on the girl — well, not exactly, but he hadn't become evil again, like they'd feared. But the dog had inexplicably disappeared; maybe he'd found his master and was bringing help?

Or maybe the girl knew the dog was a vampire, and was trying to catch him.

In any case, he needed to talk to both of them. He did a quick U-turn on the quiet road, and sped after them. In a few moments, he was neck-in-neck with them. He shouted out the window to them and got them to stop.

It turned out they were working in tandem, looking for Spike. Giles offered to give them a lift, which they gladly accepted, girl panting. Shelly quickly filled her potential Watcher in, while Cerberus navigated. Before long, they reached the posh side of town. The dog told them to slow down, apparently feeling the bond he had with Spike grow stronger. After a bit, he said to turn around and head down the drive of a house they had passed.

The drive was blocked by a gate. They got out, and Shelly and Giles climbed over it, while Cerberus just used his vampiric agility to leap over. Cerberus apparently tried reaching out to Spike as they made their way to the house, remarking that he should have been close enough to hear the vampman but got no answer.

 

SPSPSPSPSP

_Please, Cerberus, don't get any closer,_ Spike pleaded without actually mindspeaking to the dog. The dog loved him too much; he couldn't trust the animal to let him do what needed to be done.

"I see you brought your friends, Slayer," Spike said, his voice void of emotion. He wished his heart could be the same.

She stopped in the yard, ten feet from where he stood on the porch. "You didn't say not to. But this is between you and me. Let the girl go with them."

Spike laughed, fighting to not let it sound hysterical. "You don't get it, do you, Slayer? Did you think I would just _give_ her to you? You have to _earn_ this rescue. We fight. I win, Devonshire here gets to keep the girl. You win, you get to take her home."

"Hey, that wasn't a part of the deal!" Devonshire protested. "She's mine! I'm giving her as a present to my daughter Shelly, when I turn her!"

Spike saw Buffy's eyes light in recognition at the name, her jaw dropping. Spike didn't hide his smile of pride at her powers of deduction — it could only add to his look of evil anyway.

"Then _you_ can fight her for the girl if I lose," Spike told Devonshire in a tone that said he thought the man was a moron. Which he did.

Spike wanted to just let her take the girl, but that would undermine the image he was trying to maintain — for the Scoobies, for Wolfram and Hart, but mostly for Buffy. She had to believe he was evil. She had to hate him. To reinforce it, he attacked her without warning.

He was fast, but she was faster. He leapt at her, but she was already out of the way, and he landed on the ground beside her. Before he could get his feet under him, she kicked him in the head, flipping him over. Then she just stood there.

_Come on! Fight, you stupid bint!_ he cried in internal frustration. _I'm an evil vampire; do what you do best and slay me!_ He got to his feet and came at her.

 

XXXXXXXX

Xander growled in frustration. He should have shot the vampire with a stake-bolt when he'd had the chance, but he had been too stunned. Sure, he'd insisted that he had _always_ thought Spike was evil, but he still couldn't believe what he was seeing. Now Buffy was too close to the vamp; they were moving too fast for him to get a clear shot, and he didn't get another chance.

 

WWWWWW 

Willow tried to think of a spell to help, but her mind was blank. She chastised herself for not planning ahead while they'd been in the car, but she had been too worried about Buffy. She didn't get a chance to think of one now, either.

A pack of thugs, some vamps and some human, poured out from the house. Xander and Anya aimed their bolts at the vamps in the crowd. Willow tried to use her magic, and found it to be inactive.

"This place has a magic-dampening field!" she cried in despair.

"So do things the old-fashioned way!" Xander told her as he tried to fend off a human assailant.

Willow reached into the front seat of the car and pulled out a sword. Her assailant looked at her weapon and laughed. She swung, taking off his head, and he turned to dust. "Highlander ain't got nothin on me!" she told the wind.

 

SPSPSPSPSP 

Buffy had her hands full with Spike, but, he noted proudly, that didn't stop her from using him to clobber a few humans that tried to sneak past her to get at her friends. She pulled out her stake, but used it on a stray vamp, not Spike. While she was distracted, Spike twisted free — and gave her a solid punch to the jaw that sent her sprawling.

_Another time, this might have been fun,_ he thought.

 

DSDSDSDS

Dawn heard all the noise outside and decided the fight had already started. She had wanted to wait until she was certain that the others were out of visual range before getting out, but if she did, Spike might get staked because she hesitated. She lifted the lid of the trunk and got her legs under her. A vampire passed by her, attacking Anya. Dawn grabbed an axe from the trunk, tore off its cover, stood, and beheaded the vamp with a smooth stroke.

"BOOYAH! I killed my first vamp!" she cried in glee.

 

BBBBBBBBB

Buffy and Spike looked towards the teen's voice in simultaneous horror.

"You brought the Nibblet with you?!?" Spike asked Buffy incredulously.

Buffy eyed him warily. He truly sounded angry — why? She tossed the question aside and ran for her sister.

 

SPSPSPSPSP

Spike followed Buffy. Surprisingly, Dawn was doing well on her own, holding off human and vampire assailants alike. Still, Spike wouldn't stop Big Sis from helping her, wouldn't do anything that could endanger Dawn. So what _could_ he do? If he just stood there, Wolfram and Hart would doubt his sincerity — and maybe the Scoobies would, too, which would be disastrous. In fact it, had seemed, for that fleeting moment, that Buffy already _did_ doubt, because of his outburst. He prayed she didn't still harbour the possibility that he was good, no matter how much he might have wished it just a day ago.

 

GGGGGGGG

Giles struggled to keep up with the young woman. The dog was already hundreds of yards ahead of them, and getting farther with every second. He wished he knew what they were running into.

 

CCCCCCCC

Cerberus wished Spike would _tell_ him what was happening. He sensed the vamp was under a lot of stress, with an undercurrent of sorrow and determination. But what had him so determined?

 

SJSJSJSJSJSJ

Shelly neither knew nor cared what was happening. All she cared about was saving her friend and staking her father. She hoped he finally had the strength to do it.

 

SPSPSPSPSP

"EVERYONE, STOP WHERE YOU ARE!" Spike shouted above the din of battle. To his astonishment, everyone, friend and foe alike, obeyed. Of course, who was friend and who was foe at that moment was debatable. "I can't exactly prove my intentions if the Slayer gets offed fighting _you_ lot, now can I?" He made a show of glaring at Lilah's minions. "Slayer, tell your people to get in the car and wait. The rest of you, get in the house."

"And what happens to them if I loose?" the Slayer called to him.

"You have my word that they will go from here safely." The words came from another figure on the porch.

"And why should I trust you?" Buffy asked.

"You don't really have a choice, do you?" Lawrence asked, sauntering over to Kira and running a finger across the girl's skin. "I am this one's master." He gestured ti Devonshire. "For all his protests, I could kill her now." He spread his hands. "We really don't care a whit about your friends -— it's _you_ we want dead."

Buffy was silent a moment, then turned to Spike. "What 'intentions' are you trying to prove to them?"

"That he'll be our assassin for us," Lawrence answered for him. "If he kills you, his supposed ladylove, we'll believe he is as evil as he claims, and that he can be bought." He stepped down the steps. "The chip is still in his head. Just because it has stopped working doesn't mean it will _stay_ that way. He kills you, we remove it and take him on the payroll. Then we have him kill his grandsire, as well Angel's friends."

Buffy licked her lips, but seemed otherwise void of emotion. "Who is ‘we'?"

"Wolfram and Hart." Spike told her.

She nodded, and got a faraway look in her eyes. After a moment, she looked up at him. "You want this?"

He steeled himself and nodded.

She tossed her stake aside. "Then kill me."

The collective gasps of the crowd rivaled the howling wind.

Spike backed up a step. "What?!" Damn her, what was she doing?

"You kill me, you get what you want. My friends go free, regardless. I doubt you can kill Angel, and he sure as hell won't let you kill his friends, so I'm not really worried about them. You want them to remove that chip, you have to earn it, Spike. If you really _are_ evil? Kill me."

He laughed nervously. Now what was he to do? She'd just ruined everything!

"KIRA!"

"Shelly!" Devonshire waved happily, and Spike followed his gaze to find the other girl from the trailer park, the one who'd tazed him, approaching. Cerberus was beside her. And ... was that Giles, waaaaaay back there?

Spike almost breathed a sigh of relief at the interruption, but it was short-lived anyway.

"So what about the girl, Slayer?" Devonshire reminded them. "Remember your agreement? Spike kills you, the girl dies! You kill Spike, you have to fight me still to get her!"

Fast as a Slayer, Devonshire's daughter pulled out a crossbow, aimed, and fired.

Spike ducked, needlessy. The bolt hit Devonshire square in the chest, dusting him. His hostage fell to the floor. Spike went over to the girl and slung her over his shoulder, then carried her over to Devonshire's daughter and dropped the hostage unceremoniously on the ground. He hoped no one noticed him wince when he heard the girl's cry of pain.

"Take the girl and go!" Spike told Shelly. "That goes for the rest of you, too — everyone but the Slayer!"

"No way—"

"Xander!" Buffy didn't face her friends; she spoke to them, but her eyes were on Spike. "Do as he says."

Willow spoke up. "I did _not_ go through the trouble of resurrecting you just to let you throw your life away!"

Dawn crossed her arms. "Yeah, you only get to play the ‘noble suicide' card once!"

Lawrence walked back up the stairs, chuckling, then faced them. "You all realise, of course, that Wolfram and Hart has about twenty sharpshooters in the windows above us? If I give the signal, none of these humans will leave here alive. So all of this is a moot point, really. Spike kills you, or we kill you; in the end, no one is leaving alive."

"You said you would let them go!" Buffy protested.

Lawrence rolled his eyes. "Puhlease. I'm a _vampire_ , I'm _evil_. I only told you that to get the show moving. But you seem to be at a standstill now anyway, so we're going to try a new approach. In order to save your worthless hides, you must all run. If any of the rest of you stay behind to save the Slayer, you will die. I'll even give you a 30-second head start." He held up a walkie-talkie, with his finger poised over the "talk" button. "I suggest you all run fast — the sharpshooters have a range of 300 feet." He began to sing the _Jeopardy_ song, to time it.

Spike realised then that they would never make it, especially not Shelly and her still-bound friend. He had to try something else. Luckily, he already had another option in mind.

**Cerberus! Kill the one on the porch!**

 

CCCCCCCCC

Just as Giles caught up to Cerberus, the dog ordered, **Giles, shoot the one on the porch, now!**

Though he wasn't sure what was going on, Giles had been a Watcher long enough to know you sometimes needed to move without question. He aimed his crossbow and fired. A pile of dust muffled the walkie-talkie's fall a moment later. Giles smiled when Shelly whistled appreciatively. "Yes, well, we Watchers do, in fact, train ourselves ...."

The Watcher's preening was cut short by another mental-sending, one relayed through Cerberus from Spike, who painted a quick and clear mental image of what he needed everyone — Buffy, Scoobies, and Shelly included — to do next. Trusting what his mind's eye showed him and seeing the sense in the plan, Giles obeyed, hoping that the others would too.

 

LMLMLMLM 

Lilah watched everything from the safety of a third-story window, She quickly realised that there was a disadvantage to her perch: she couldn't hear anything. It seemed like everything had come to a standstill, and she wanted to know why.

She pressed the "talk" button on her walkie-talkie. "Lawrence? What's going on?"

There was no answer. She was about to try again, when she saw the vampire and the Slayer go at it. She watched with glee as the vampire got the upper hand! Lilah couldn't see exactly what was happening, but the next thing she knew, the Slayer was lying on the ground, staring sightlessly into the sky. The senior partners would be so pleased!

Wait — now the vampire was carrying the Slayer to the car she and her friends had arrived in .... Lilah realised then that, while Spike and the Slayer had been fighting, the Slayer's friends had all apparently sought the shelter of the vehicle and driven it off a ways. Lilah was smart; it didn't take her long at all to realise that the fight had been a ruse, allowing the humans to escape.

So Spike couldn't be trusted after all.

Lilah pressed the talk button again. "FIRE!"

 

SPSPSPSPSP

Xander's car, thankfully, had made it out of the range of the bullets, with the Scoobies and Shelly inside it. With Lawrence dead, his minions, it seemed, were still working under their original expectations, that Spike and the Slayer were going to duke it out. They had not known they were supposed to fire on the retreating humans. Still, Spike figured Lilah might still give a similar order if she thought Spike were betraying her, so he and Buffy had mock-fought, giving the Scoobies and the girls enough time to get safely out of range. Spike made it a bit more than halfway to the car before the bullets started flying — someone, probably Lilah, had wised up to what was going on. The bullets impeded but did not stop him. He shielded his precious Slayer with his body, carrying her, but a few of the tiny missles still grazed her. His biggest fear was that one would go through him into her, but their luck held out, and he made it to the car.

Inside the car it was a tight fit, but no one complained. Xander floored it. A few moments later, though, he slammed on the brakes.

"The security gate is closed! Will, can you magic it open?"

"No good, magic doesn't work on it!"

Xander sighed. "Hold on tight, everyone!" He floored it, and busted through.

Giles sighed in turn. "Why didn't _I_ think of doing that when I got here?"

Spike grinned into Buffy's hair as she sat on his lap, and felt wry amusement from the dog before drifting off into healing-prompted sleep.

 

~ * @ * ~

Shelly sat as unmoving as her friend Kira, who was fast asleep beside her on the Summers girls' couch. Shelly, though, was wide awake.

The Slayer's friends, the Scoobies, had been very nice to them both, but Shelly wasn't feeling too conversational. She knew they were confused as to why she was nearly catatonic; she had her friend back, didn't she? They'd made it out alive, thanks to Spike's diversionary tactics. They probably didn't know that the vamp she'd dusted was her own father.

She didn't think it would be so hard.

After all, that wasn't _really_ her father. He father had died quite a while ago; what she'd destroyed had only been a monster masquerading as the man she had once dearly loved.

She felt a shadow cross her face, and instinctually looked up. It was the younger Summers girl, Dawn, who was just about her own age. Dawn smiled at her and handed her a cup of hot liquid — cocoa, by the smell.

"I'm sorry about your dad."

Shelly almost spilled the drink.

"Spike told us."

Ah. Shelly had forgotten that vamp had been there, at the trailer park.

"My mom died recently," Dawn went on. "I tried to bring her back, but ..." Dawn's eyes grew haunted a moment. Then she smiled, weakly. "She didn't come back quite the same. Or, she _might_ not of. I'm not really even sure. I stopped the spell before I could find out if it worked or not. I couldn't deal with her not being ... _her_ , y'know?" Dawn covered her mouth with a hand, her eyes filling with tears. "I sometimes feel like I _killed_ her that second time," she whispered. She looked up at Shelly in horror. "I'm s-sorry, I didn't mean — I shouldn't have said — I've never said that to anyone, I—" She started to stand, but Shelly reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I ... I could use some company, right now ... if you're up to it?" she asked, shy but hopeful.

 

~ * @ * ~

The first thing Spike noticed was how much he hurt. The second was that he was still alive — or at least what passed for it for him. The third was that Buffy's scent was thick in his nose.

He opened his eyes and found himself looking into hers. She grinned.

"Wakey-wakey, Mr. Swiss Cheese."

"Buffy?!" He tried to sit up, and fell back on his elbows. Then he discovered some of the bullets had apparently hit his arms, and he fell all the way back. He hit even more wounds on his backside in the process. He lay there a moment, paralyzed with pain.

"Hurts?"

He could barely nod.

"Serves you right! Suicide is my department, remember?"

He managed a weak grin. "Well, how else did you expect us to get out of there?" he rapsed. "If we'd left with the others, they would have known something was up and started firing right away. And If I didn't carry you, you would be dead again. I'm dead _already_ , remember?"

She hit his arm, then immediately apologised when he grimaced in pain. "That's not what I'm talking about," she told him softly, after a moment. "Cerberus told me about what you were trying to do. How you were trying to convince me you were evil so I would stake you and get Kira out of there, and not feel guilty about it. As if!" She brushed his cheek tenderly. "You don't think it killed me to kill Angel?"

He looked away, ashamed. "Angel was good, the moment you killed him," he protested weakly.

"And he had been evil for weeks on end before that, killed Jenny and threatened the people I loved. But don't think for a moment I would have felt the pain any less if he had still been evil even as I ran him through. I loved him. I won't lie to you — part of me always will." She made him look at her. "And now I love you."

She kissed him, then, softly, but he could feel the love in it. It was electricity that danced in his lips and into the rest of him, invigorating him, making him forget his pain a moment. Until she pulled away and slapped him.

"And you were going to put me through that _again_ , you jerk! Why the hell did you wanna die anyway?! Is being with me _that bad_?!?"

"I ..."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you thought I would be better off without you, were afraid of going evil again and hurting me, yadda-yadda! Y'know, you and Angel are more alike than you realise! Both of you do what you think is right for me without bothering to ask me what _I_ think!" She pouted. "I mean, give me a _little_ credit. You go evil on me, I can take you!" She tried to keep a straight face, and failed.

"Oh really?" he asked her. Ignoring his injuries, he sat up and gathered his Slayer into his arms.

"See?" she purred. "I have you right where I want you!"

"That's funny, I was about to say the same thing about you," he replied before she shut him up with another kiss.

He surrendered.


	3. Company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spike and Buffy go on a date, Cerberus and Nicky go AWOL, and Willow and Tara meet up with Oz and his new girlfriend ....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! This chapter contains Spoilers for the anime _Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust_.

CCCCCCCC

"No, Cerberus! You _stay_!"

The vampdog stood there, staring at the red-headed witch, his head tilted. **Honestly, I don't speak only French or something, woman; I can understand you perfectly well ....**

Willow ran a hand through her hair, looking sheepish. "Oh, right, sorry, Cerberus ... But I mean it, they don't allow dogs in the theatre, I'm sorry!"

The dog whine and bowed his head, tail down.

"Oh, look at him Willow! Can't we pretend I'm blind and bring him with?" Dawn suggested.

Cerberus wagged his tail. He loved this girl.

"To the _movies_ , Dawn?"

"Blind people still go to movies! They can _hear_ , ya know!"

Willow seemed a bit stumped by that, and turned to Tara for help. The golden-haired witch just shrugged.

"C'mon, we're gonna be late, love!" Spike dragged Buffy past the girls, to the door.

"But I don't understand why we have to see a vampire movie!" Buffy complained. I get enough of vampires in real life!"

Spike stopped short and gave her a hurt look. "Tired of vampires, are you then?"

Buffy hurriedly apologised. "No! No, it's just that ... well I mean ... don't you think it's kind of _degrading_ , watching vampire movies? I mean, how can you keep from rolling your eyes at another inane portrayal of yourself?" She glommed onto his arm, resting her head against his shoulder affectionately, looking up at him with soulful eyes. Cerberus could tell Spike was a total sucker for that move.

Tara spoke up before Spike could reply. "Oh, no, Buffy, the n-new Vampire Hunter d-D is really a b-beautiful film! I'm s-sure you'll both love it!"

Spike looked a little skeptical. Tara and Willow had been the ones to suggest they see it — they'd seen it once already, and seemed eager to see it again. Cerberus, hearing Spike's thoughts, knew the man was especially mistrustful of Tara's stutter — these days, she only did that when she was nervous. Spike wondered why they were so keen on him and Buffy going. Hell, with a subtitle like "Bloodbath", he wondered why _they_ had gone to see it in the first place. Still, it was an excuse for him to spend some time with Buffy in a dark place, so it wouldn't be a total loss. It wasn't exactly a date, with the Wiccas and the Nibblet coming along, but it was a start.

"We better get going, or we're gonna miss the previews!" Willow reminded them, herding them out the door.

In the hustle, Dawn apparently forgot about trying to bring Cerberus with. When the door closed behind them, the vampdog sat there for a minute, staring at it, dejected. Then he went down to the basement, which he now shared with Spike as their new habitat, and to the new computer there.

Funny that Willow had made this special set-up, with a keyboard and switches that Cerberus could operate, yet still spoke to him in babytalk. He turned the computer on, got online, and checked his email. With the large keys of his special keyboard, he was able to reply to his various pen-pals, and join in on conversations on message boards and in chat rooms. Of course, no one knew he was a dog or a vampire, except for Nicky, the vampire bunny.

  
  


Nicky was online! Cerberus instant-messaged his friend, and received a prompt reply. Cerberus told his friend how left out he was feeling. Spike was spending all his time with Buffy, which Cerberus totally understood and approved of — he liked Buffy himself. But he just wasn't that close to the others, except maybe Dawn, and tonight even she was gone. Cerberus was starting to feel how he had when he was a stray: lonely.

 _I know how you feel_ , Nicky told him. _Lydia spends most of her time with Oz now. When I was just an ordinary bunny, it didn't matter so much — I didn't really understand things like "time". But since her and I are bonded, I share her human thought process now. I know what I was missing before, what I didn't even realise I was missing and am starting to miss again. And you're going through the same thing with Spike: you understand that you are being left out, and you remember the hurt even when he comes back._

 _Yes!_ Cerberus typed. _That's exactly it! Before, when he came back from being gone, I didn't dwell on the fact that he'd been away, and I didn't fear that he might leave again! I just was happy he was with me. But now I can't escape this idea that I will be alone most of the time, and that even when I am with him, he's still really more with Buffy! And then I feel terrible for being jealous, because I really do like her and want them to be happy!_

 _What we need is a way to spend time together, you and I, when our bond-mates are spending time with others_ , the rabbit replied.

Cerberus thought a moment, then started to type again, _Willow has developed some sort of traveling spell, using something she wears on her arm. She wasn't wearing it when she left! But I don't know how to work it ...._

The rabbit was considerably more enthusiastic. _If it's a magical object, and not just a focal point for her own magic, we might be able to figure it out!_

Well, it was worth a shot. _Ok, I'll see if I can find it. Back in a few ...._ And the dog logged off.

 

BBBBBBBB

Buffy and Spike had sat down first, in the front row, so Willow, Tara, and Dawn sat further down, doubtless so the couple could have some privacy. Xander and Anya had opted out of the evening's fanfair, Xander saying they wanted some "alone time", while Anya elaborated that they were going to have sex all night long. Giles was taking care of shop-business while his partner took the night off.

Most of the theatre's other patrons were sitting further back, and those that weren't, also weren't sitting that close to the odd couple. Buffy brought out the candy she had stashed in her coat — she felt guilty enough spending money on the movie, without having to pay theatre prices for the food, too. Spike happily dug into the m&ms. It made Buffy smile, seeing him like a little kid.

"Oh look, luv," Spike whispered while the previews ran, "a GREEN one." He gave her a wicked smile and put it on his tongue, then leaned in for a kiss.

Blushing a little, she indulged herself in his chocolaty-sweet mouth. When the show started, she snuggled against him, and he leaned his head against hers. She hoped he didn't hear her heart racing. Why was she so nervous? Sure, she hadn't been on a date in quite a while, but it wasn't like her and Spike hadn't kissed plenty of times already. In fact, she was a bit frustrated that they hadn't done anything _else_. She couldn't imagine he had been this much of a gentleman with Dru, and certainly not with Harmony. Maybe this was just another measure of how he had changed.

She put thoughts of his ex-girlfriends out of her mind — she didn't want to taint their night with thoughts of what had been. She had enough reminders like that when Xander was around. She knew from when she was dead that Spike's love was genuine, as was his change of heart about his role in life. She wanted to enjoy being with the man he was now.

She focused her attention on the screen, and quickly forgot her troubled heart. Having seen _Pokemon_ when Dawn was watching it, she hadn't come to think much of anime. This was something totally different, though! It was dark and haunting, fluid and faerytale-like.The gothic dark was her world — she lived it every night — yet she had never really seen it as so beautiful before.

And then a character called Meier came on the screen.

"Spike?" she whispered.

"Yeah, luv?"

"No, I mean ... he looks like _you!_ "

Spike laughed softly. "Yeah, I suppose there is a superficial resemblance."

As the story wound on, they found the similarities to be far more than superficial. Meier was supposedly evil, but Buffy refused to believe it. She wondered if it was because she refused to believe it of Spike, and was projecting too much. And the relationship between D and the girl vampire hunter, Layla — it reminded her a bit of both her former relationship with Angel and her new one with Spike. She was relieved when it was revealed that the human girl, Charlotte really did love Meier, and he truly loved her in return. She cried when he was burned, cried when she thought he had died, cried when Charlotte fell, and bawled at their final scene.

And so did Spike. And he also wept over Layla's funeral. He didn't make a sound as he wept, but Buffy knew what she was seeing was just a pale reflection of how he had grieved for her when she had died. Seeing that the girl in the movie had lived a long, happy life had left her with an odd sense of peace, one that was disturbed by Spike's reaction. She suddenly realised something she hadn't considered before. Spike would watch her grow old — and see her die all over again. She felt a pang of fear; would he distance himself from her, the way D had done with his own slayer? Or would he stay with her forever, even after her death, the way Meier had done with Charlotte?

She reached up and stroked his cheek, causing him to look her in the eye. There was so much pain and fear there, it broke her heart. She didn't fear death — she knew what it was like — but she feared what her death would do to him. Alive or dead, there _had_ to be a way they could face eternity _together_  — and _happy_.

She wiped away his tears, and whispered so only he could hear, "It's just a story, Spike. There are far more stories — and _endings_ — in the world. I'm not just some fragile, mortal girl. Layla wasn't a _real_ Slayer. I promise you, right now, that I will always be with you, so long as you'll have me. One way or another. Besides, I died twice already — I'm not that easy to get rid of," she purred, and kissed him.

He laughed through the kiss, a laugh of both sadness and joy. She started to laugh too. He ran his fingers through her hair and drew her close, holding her tight. She snuggled against his shoulder, her embrace just as fierce. "I'll never let you go," he whispered.

"Jeez, you two, will you get a room?"

Spike looked up into the eyes of a disgusted teenager, eyes that said she was secretly pleased but fulfilling her adolescent duty to be obnoxious.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it, Platelet. Time to go. But when we get home, if you don't like what you see, you can always go to your room." He winked.

Dawn stuck out her tongue. "Or you can go to _yours_ ..."

"DAWN!" Buffy chided, her face red with more embarrassment than anger, but her sister was already running up the ramp out of the theatre.

 

CCCCCCCCC

 _Are you sure you wanna try this?_ Cerberus typed.

_Everything will be fine, dog; stop your worrying!_

Cerberus huffed in frustration. They had discussed this back and forth for a couple of hours, looking at the various books on magic each of them had lying around, living with witches like they did. Nicky had come to the conclusion that Willow had created a magical object that could let someone teleport, not used an object to simply enhance her power.

Well, it wasn't like _he_ was going to use the portal — Nicky was coming to the Summers house. If the bunny had a death wish, then it was no fur off his snout. He didn't want to admit he cared about the little ball of fur, and didn't want to see him end up a crispy critter.

Resigned to his course, the dog shoved his nose into Willow's magic gauntlet. He concentrated on the image Nicky had put on the screen of Lydia's room, via the webcam. His nose started to tingle, and he fought back a sneeze. He wasn't successful.

When he sneezed, the fabric of space before him ripped open, and the gauntlet flew off his nose. In the tear, he could see the same image he'd seen on the computer. Nicky hopped through, and the tear closed up behind him.

**It worked!** The rabbit did a little dance around the astonished dog. **So what do we do now, huh?**

Cerberus was still staring where the portal had been. _He_ had done that? He had worked _magic_?

**C'mon, Cerbie, what do you do for fun around here?**

Cerberus finally looked at the bunny. **Don't call me Cerbie.**

 

LYLYLYLYLY

Lydia gasped and stopped, right before the exit, causing the people behind her to mutter and grumble as they piled up, then moved around her.

"What is it, Lydia?"

She looked at Oz, her eyes wide as saucers. "Nicky! He's ... he's _gone_!"

"Oz? Lydia? What are you two doing here?"

Oz looked over Lydia's shoulder; Lydia followed his gaze and found Spike standing there, a pretty blonde on the vamp's arm.

"Buffy! Are you a ghost, a zombie, a vampire, or resurrected?" Oz asked.

"Um, cloned, actually," Buffy answered Oz. Then, cocking her head, she asked Lydia, "Have we met?"

Any other day, Lydia would have been keen to get to know this Buffy, having heard so much about her. but at the moment, she had other concerns — and the perfect person to help her was right there! "Spike, can you still feel Cerberus?"

"We had to come a bit of a ways from Sunnydale to get here, and he had to stay home, so no," Spike replied, looking concerned. "Are you saying you can't sense Nicky?"

"No! He's just .... gone!"

"Who's gone?" came a voice from over his shoulder. _TTTTTTT_

"Lydia?!? Oh my gods!" Tara squealed with glee, sweeping the girl up in a fierce hug. She'd met the girl a few more times since the initial encounter at Lorne's club, when Lydia came into Anya's shop for witchy supplies, and they'd had some nice chats. Tara sensed something was wrong now, remembering the girl's words about someone being gone, and pulled back, her hands gripping the girl's shoulders. "Sweetie, what is it?"

"Get your paws off my girl!" growled Lydia's date, pulling Tara away. Tara gasped when she saw who it was.

"Hey, leave Tara alone, Oz! I told you, it's _over_ between us!" Willow pushed her way between them.

Oz's face started to shift, and he snarled at her. "Not _you!_ I mean _Lydia!_ "

 

WWWWWWW

Willow stepped back, a little hurt to have her old lover threaten her so. Then she noticed the girl he was with, and realised retroactively that Tara had hugged the girl. She had been so focused on the shock of seeing him, she hadn't paid attention, but now she felt a surge of jealousy. The only problem was that she wasn't sure if she was feeling that way because Oz was with her or because Tara seemed to know her.

Wait a minute. _She_ knew this girl too!

"You ... you were at the club that night ... with the bunny, and the-the GRRRR at Angel's place later ..." She made claws with her hands for emphasis. And she suddenly understood why Lydia was with Oz. "You're the werewolf girl."

"No, she's not Veruca-"

"I know, Oz. We saw Lydia transform at Angel's, the night we met her."

He looked at Lydia in confusion. "Angel knew you were a werewolf ... and he never said anything? _Lorne_ didn't say anything?"

Lydia sighed. "If they had told you, you would have ignored me. You weren't exactly accepting of your nature at the time .... Look, can we talk about this later? Something's happened to Nicky!"

 

SSSSSSSSSSS

"Okay, where was Nicky when you last felt him?" Spike asked her.

"Back at our place... and then suddenly the bond felt a lot fainter ... in fact, it felt like it was in a different direction! A-and then it was gone entirely!"

Spike took her gently by the shoulders, trying to calm her. "What direction?!"

"I-I don't know, it happened so fast, I ..." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She lifted her hand and suddenly pointed. "That way. I think ..." She lowered her hand, obviously not so certain.

Spike looked in the direction she pointed in. "Sunnydale ..." he whispered. He felt a sudden chill trickle down his spine. What if there was another reason he couldn't feel Cerberus?

"Hey, what's going on?" Dawn asked, having just come out of the bathroom. She noticed Oz, and said "Hiya, wolfboy! Long time no see!"

Oz looked at her a moment in confusion. Then he suddenly smiled. "Hiya, kiddo!"

Spike had watched the exchange, and felt a pang for Dawn. He knew what had just happened, but no one else had likely even noticed. The spell that had made Dawn had just kicked in, giving Oz new memories, ones that included the girl-that-never-was. Spike prayed she never noticed that effect herself.

 

CCCCCCCCC

"OOOWOOOOoooooooOOOO!!!!!!!!"

Cerberus snapped at the bulldog's stub of a tail, eliciting shrieks of terror from the beast. Nicky raced ahead of it, growling in his own bunny fashion. The dog backpedaled, looking something like a cartoon character, Cerberus thought. It stopped when it came nose-to-nose with him, panting in terror.

**Boo.**

The dog yowled, and leapt over the bunny, racing for its life into the night. Cerberus and Nicky flipped onto their backs, rolling about in silent laughter. **Did you see the look on it's face?** Cerberus mindspoke, sending an undercurrent of mirth with the words.

**Heh, that's one scaredy-cat!**

Cerberus felt good. He felt empowered. He'd just kicked the tail of a bad-ass dog that had made his life miserable when he was a mortal stray. Revenge was a dish best served by a cold corpse.

**So now what?** Nicky asked, kicking his legs in a bunny's dance of joy.

Cerberus thought for a moment.

**That wasn't much of a challenge. Let's go after some bigger bullies!**

 

BBBBBBBBB

"Spike, it'll just make it harder to find them if you get pulled over for speeding ..."

Buffy was holding on to her seat belt for dear life. The vampire growled in frustration, and eased up on the gas. Lydia, sitting between them, was whining faintly. Buffy put a hand on the girl's arm, in comfort.

 

WWWWWW

Things were tense in the back seat as well, albeit for different reasons. Willow couldn't even put a name to how she felt, being near Oz again, knowing that he was seeing someone else. And she wasn't too happy with Tara at the moment, so she didn't feel so guilty as she thought she ought to. Tara should be feeling some guilt of her own, by Willow's reck ....

Lydia had apparently come to the Magic Box once after they had met her in L.A. Tara had been there helping Anya with things, and Willow was in a class. Tara remembered the girl, and struck up a conversation with her. She'd found out that Lydia had been seeing Oz. The werewolf girl had come to the Magic Box under the pretense of getting some hard-to-find items, but was, she'd later admitted, really curious about Willow. She'd known there was a lot of pain in Oz's heart over the red-head, and Lydia thought the two should talk and work things out. After all, they were both seeing new people, right? But Tara hadn't thought it was a good idea, at least not just yet. So they'd talked about their loves, and then moved on to Wicca. Tara was happy to have met another Wiccan with such strong ties to the supernatural world. She and Lydia had talked on the phone every now and again after that, and had lunch a few times.

Willow tried not to, but couldn't escape the worry Tara was cheating on her. Why else would Tara have kept the encounters secret?

 

OOOOOOO

Hearing the story, Oz found himself suspecting Lydia of cheating. He repeated mantras in his head, struggling against the rise of petty human jealousy.

 

TTTTTTTT

Tara secretly feared Willow wanted Oz back — or that Willow might decide she liked Lydia better than Tara.

 

DDDDDDD

Dawn reflected that the back seat was not a good place to be at the moment.

"I feel him!" Spike and Lydia cried in unison from the front.

Dawn sighed in relief. At least one thing was going right.

"Wait! It's gone again!" Lydia wailed.

Ok, so maybe things were still tense ....

 

CCCCCCCC

"Get outta here!" the bartender yelled at the animals, throwing a bucket of water at them.

Cerberus and Nicky put on their game faces, snarling at the man. He backed up, suddenly afraid. Cerberus had come here once before, with Spike, and the bartender had insisted he wait outside. Spike had taken a pretty bad beating while Cerberus was out there.

"N-nice doggy! Nice ... b-bunny?"

One of his patrons stood up from the bar and walked over to the scene. "Oh goody, snacks!" he cried, licking his lips.

The vamp-animals shared a look, before leaping at the demon.

 

SSSSSSSSSSS

"There! He's that way!" Lydia pointed.

"Yeah, I fe-DAMN!" Spike hit the Desoto's horn in frustration. The tug of the bond, when they could feel it, kept going in different directions. They had found themselves doubling back towards L.A., and that last blip had been somewhere west of them. It was like every time they started to get close, the familiars rushed off faster than the speed of light to somewhere else.

"Maybe we should go to our place?" Oz suggested. "They seem to be moving closer to L.A. now, and we might find a clue there."

"No! We should go to the Magic Box!" Willow told them. "With some supplies, I bet we can divine what's going on!"

Lydia didn't turn around to reply. "I have supplies at my place. I'm a witch _too_ , y'know."

"But you won't have anything of the caliber _we_ have-"

"CHILDREN!" Dawn snapped, clearly disgusted with the lot of them. "We're closer to L.A. now, we'll _go_ to L.A. This isn't a contest, Willow! You're with Tara, she loves you, Oz and Lydia love each other, and can you blame Tara for being afraid of telling you about them if this is how you react? You're jealous of Lydia, but did you think for one minute that maybe Tara might be jealous of Oz? Or worried that _you_ might fall for _Lydia_? And Oz, Willow had every reason to move on with Tara; you didn't exactly leave any indication that you were going to come back. Don't blame Tara for you losing what _you_ didn't try to hold on to! And Tara, you can't expect Willow to forget her first love, but you should trust her more! She chose you before, didn't she? When she knew you a lot less than she does now! And Oz, I'd say you should offer Lydia the same courtesy, if you love her! And if you can't let go of your love for Willow, then you should say so! Your 'man-of-few-words' routine is what lost you Willow in the first place! So be happy with Lydia, 'cause you can't have Willow back. And Willow, be happy with Tara, and remember why you chose her in the first place. And Tara, trust in your love, not your fear! There's no reason you can't all be friends!" she ended in a pant.

 

BBBBBBBBBB

The vehicle was silent, save for Dawn's breathing. Buffy felt a surge of pride at her younger sister's perceptiveness, but said nothing. She saw Spike grinning slighty, and could see Willow and Tara cringing in the side mirror.

Then Lydia piped up. "Actually, I was thinking the four of us could be more than friends, if y'all would get over this whole 'monogamy' kick. It's fairly common for my people to get together in pack-matings. Tara, Willow, I love Oz as my lifemate, but I do find you both attractive."

Buffy stifled a laugh as the three in the mirror turned bright red.

"I-I love Willow!" Tara protested.

Willow hugged Tara. "And I love you. I'm sorry I doubted you, and I'm sorry I ever gave you reason to doubt me."

"Lydia, what are you doing?? I love  _you_ — Willow and I are long over!" It was strange to Buffy to see Oz so out of sorts.

Lydia turned around in her seat, and smiled lovingly at him. "I know. But it's okay to still _care_ for Willow — and I would hope you could come to love Tara, too." She smiled at her fellow Wiccans. "Well, the offer is still on the table, girls, but I understand if you don't want to try it." She winked. "But I hope we can all be friends, at least. To quote an old saying among my people, 'Your pack can only be too big if you don't have enough love to go around. Or food.'"

Dawn laughed, breaking the tension. The rest of the vehicle joined her, Tara and Willow snuggling together, and Oz giving Lydia a hug and a kiss over the seat. When he sat back down, he held on to her hand still.

Buffy thought you could feel the love in the car like a thick, comfortable blanket, dispelling the chill of hurt feelings and the heat of anger both. She wished she were sitting next to Spike, so she could let him know how much she loved him.

**I know, love ...** came his voice in her mind, making her jump in surprise.

 

SSSSSSSSSS

Spike caught her jump out of the corner of his eye, and nearly jumped himself as he realised what had happened. He had heard her voice, in his mind, saying that she wished she could let him know how she felt. He had responded as he would to Cerberus, when he didn't want anyone else to hear. But he hadn't really registered that he'd only heard her voice in his head, not his ears, or that he'd responded the same way — he'd done it instinctually, not consciously. And she had heard him!

He tested it. **Can you hear me, love?**

When there wasn't an answer, he shrugged it off, figuring he was imagining things. And then- **Yes, I can!** Her mind-voice was filled with awe.

**Well, well, well, love, this is an interesting turn of ev—**

"I think I can sense them again!" Lydia unwittingly interrupted him.

Spike reached out. Yes, he could feel Cerberus, barely. And as the Desoto ate the road, he realised the bond's tug was getting stronger. He still wasn't close enough to hear any replies to his mind-cries, though—unless something was wrong, and Cerberus just couldn't reply.

 

LOLOLOLOLO

"So you really think Spike and Lydia don't love you, anymore, huh?" Lorne asked his late-night visitors.

They only nodded in agreement. At the last demon-bar they had gone to, they had apparently fed off some very drunken creatures, taking nips here and there as they fought. Now the animals were a little tipsy themselves — and very, very maudlin.

"Listen, guys, I've heard both of them sing, and I happen to know for a fact that they each love you very much! Sometimes people in love get ... _distracted_ from the other parts of their life for a while. It doesn't mean they've stopped loving you! They'll come around, you'll see. When parents bring home a new baby, the older siblings always feel like their moms and dads don't love them anymore, when it's really just that a new baby needs a lot of extra attention until it's strong enough to take care of itself. New love is like that, needing to be nurtured until it's strong enough that it doesn't need constant attention."

The vampire beasts gave him blank looks.

Lorne sighed. "It's a bit late for metaphors, I know. Give me a break, I'm tired. Speaking of which, don't you two think you should be getting home? Spike and Lydia will be worried about you!"

They didn't seem to believe him, and didn't seem too tired, either.

Lorne eyed the gauntlet at Cerberus' feet. "Lorne, my boy, time to take matters into your own hands ...."

 

BBBBBBBB

Lydia looked around. "Well, we're almost home, and the bond isn't as strong as it would be if they were at my place. They seem to be further north..."

"Is it just me, or does the bond seem a bit ... fuzzy, to you?" Spike asked the wolfgirl.

She nodded. "Let's stop at my place, since it seems to be on the way. Maybe we'll find a clue to what's going on there, and then we can be better prepared."

Spike nodded, clearly distracted with worry. Buffy could feel his anxiety — unless it was just her own she was feeling. She loved the little dog, maybe as much as Spike did, and was as afraid of something happening to Cerberus as she would be for Dawn under such circumstances. She tried to send Spike a little astral squeeze of reassurance. When she felt it back, she knew it had worked. Long-distance nookie ... if only she wasn't too upset to enjoy the prospect.

 

LOLOLOLOLO

Lorne grabbed the gauntlet. Cerberus didn't seem to care enough to stop him; he just sat staring at his paws.

"Now I'm taking you boys home, whether you like it or not! First stop, Lydia's house! And then, since I've never been to Spike's place, we'll have to hope Oz is there to take you home, pup!"

The animals just sat there.

Lorne sighed and put on the gauntlet. "Right, then, let's hope this works the way my old one did!"

He aimed his hand at the air next to them, and concentrated.

 

EVERYONE

Lydia fussed with her keys while the rest of them waited behind her on the stoop and the walk to her door. She had just about gotten the door open, when they heard something behind them. The gang turned to find a rip in the space behind them. Out from it came a green demon.

"Lorne!" Spike, Oz, and Lydia cried.

"The Host!" Tara and Willow cried.

"Who?" Buffy and Dawn asked.

"Ha! I don't believe it! It worked!" Lorne laughed. He turned and motioned to someone behind him. "C'mon, you two! I wanna get back to bed!"

Cerberus and Nicky waddled glumly out of the portal.

"I believe you're missing these!" Lorne proclaimed.

"Nicky!"

"Cerberus!" Spike and Lydia rushed forward and swept up their respective familiars, fussing and crooning over them, tearfully asking what had happened to them.

"They got lonely and decided to use this to go gallivanting off together," Lorne explained, taking off the gauntlet and holding it up.

"My gauntlet!" Willow exclaimed, taking it back from the Host. "How did they manage to use it?!?"

Lydia answered while she hugged her rabbit close. "Animals are closer to magic than we are. They have a natural affinity for it — it takes a lot less effort for them. That's why they were able to break Lorne's shield on Caratos the first night they met, and fight despite the anti-aggression spell. I'm glad you two are friends now, but next time, tell us when you're doing to do something like that! You sacred me half to death!"

**Ma ... mom, you're squishing me ...** Nicky squirmed.

**Yeah, put me down!** Cerberus tried to get away.

"Oh no you don't!" Spike reprimanded the pup. "Now that I have you back, I'm never letting you go again!"

"Spike, give him here," Buffy ordered.

"Okay." Spike handed the canine to her.

**Well that didn't last long,** Cerberus muttered.

**Now you listen up!** Buffy scolded him, **Like it or not, we're a pack! Dawn's your sister, Tara, Willow, and Anya are your aunts, Xander's your uncle, Giles is your grandfather, and Spike and I are alpha male and female, the parents of the pack! We're a family, and nothing is gonna break us up, got it?**

Cerberus flattened his ears in supplication, and gave her a tentative lick.

"Heh, well I guess that settles it," Buffy laughed.

Dawn, apparently tired for waiting for her turn to hold the pup, wrapped Buffy and the dog up in her arms. Spike put his own arms around them all.

Oz held Lydia as she held Nicky; though no one said it, everyone thought they looked like a couple with a baby.

Smilling at them, Tara held her own true love, who couldn't seem to squeeze her tight enough for either of their liking.

"Well, this is all very sweet, but I'm going back to bed," Lorne informed them as he turned to head back through the portal.

"Lorne?"

He looked over his shoulder at Lydia.

"Thank-you."

He smiled. "No problem." He moved to go.

"Hey Lorne?"

"Yes, Spike, I know, you're welcome!"

"Nice pajamas!"

Lorne grunted in supposed irritation, but smiled as he walked back into his club, hearing the laughter of a family happy to have its children back as the portal closed behind him.

"Well, I guess we should get going too ..." Willow said, and put the gauntlet on. She opened a gate large enough to fit the Desoto, leading to Buffy's driveway.

She turned to Oz. "I'm happy for you, for the both of you. If you're ever in Sunnydale ..."

Oz and Lydia smiled. "Yes, and if you're ever in LA ...."

Willow held up the gauntlet. "I think that'll be happening a bit more often."

The Scoobies piled into Spike's car, Buffy getting in last. Lydia stopped her.

She whispered to the Slayer. "Ask Spike if he remembers what I told him about the nature of vampires and souls sometime." She smiled, and said more loudly, "I hope you come visit, too."

Buffy smiled, slightly puzzled. "We will." 

 

BBBBBBBBB

"So I think it'll work!" Willow told them all excitedly as they took their coats off, back at the Summers house. "It'll be a doggy-door of sorts, and allow Cerberus and Nicky to see eachother whenever they want. But no more adventuring with the gauntlet!" She shook her finger at the dog for emphasis.

"Ah, Sweety, I think we better ask Lydia and Oz if it's ok, first ..." Tara gently pointed out.

"Oh, yeah!" Willow blushed.

Buffy smiled and patted the dog reassuringly. "I don't think it'll be a problem."

"Man, I'm beat!" Dawn proclaimed, heading up the stairs. Tara and Willow nodded, and went up too.

Spike and Buffy stood awkwardly at the foot of the stair.

"I .. I had a good time tonight. Thank-you." Buffy smiled shyly, wringing her hands.

Spike licked his dry lips, darting looks at her, but not quite able to face her completely. "Yeah, um, it was fun! We ... ah ... we should do it again ... sometime?" The last word had a hopeful lilt to it, sounding slightly like a question, rather than a statement.

Buffy shrugged, not able to meet his eyes either. "I ... kinda thought maybe the fun wasn't over yet tonight ...."

His brows went up, and he eyed her sideways. "What—" his voice cracked, and he cleared it. He straightened his shoulders and looked her full in the eye. "What sort of fun did you have in mind?"

She stepped closer to him, her skin suddenly on fire, her heart aflutter, and her lips aching with their own sort of hunger. Her cheeks tingled, and her hands, and she felt like crying, but happy tears. It was hard to breathe. They drew close, her eyes closing, and the tingling spread throughout her body. She reached up and put her hands on his chest

He was warm.

Before she had a chance to wonder, he pulled back. She almost cried out for want of him.

He was looking down at Cerberus, who was staring at them with his head on his paws, his eyes sad.

Spike looked at her, pleading. **You know I love you, right? You know I want this as much as you, but ... after what Lorne said tonight ...**

She smiled. **It's okay, Spike, I understand. But I'm selfish ... I don't want to be alone tonight either. Why don't you both just come up to my room. We'll just sleep, and he can stay in the bed with us. We can do ... _more_ ... another night ... **

He drew her close and kissed her forehead tenderly. Any more than that, and he knew neither of them could hold back. But like parents with a child who was afraid of the dark, they knew that Cerberus needed to be with them that night. It was enough for them to just be together.

And thinking of Cerberus as a child made Buffy think of something else as they made their way up the stairs. In the movie they'd seen that night, the main character had been half vampire, half human. This wasn't the first time she'd run across that idea in the vampire myth. She wondered if Angel was wrong about it being impossible for vampires to have children. After all, he had never tried it, as far as she knew. Maybe that was an old wive's tale. She made a mental note to ask Spike about that, and about what Lydia had said to her. She looked forward to testing her theory ....

She put those thoughts from her mind as she snuggled into her bed, Spike's arms wrapped around her, her comforter over them, and the dog at their feet. She didn't even notice this time that both vampires were warm, when they weren't supposed to be.

There would be plenty of time to think about all those things tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Animated gifs by me, using a photo taken by my Da of my "daeg" Patch, and one by me of "mah wee bunneh", Brighteyes, with permission of the good people at the (now-defunct) SPCVA. The SPCVA's pets were not animated — I did mine special ....
> 
> As for the polyamoury bit, I'm bi-poly. Love triangles in stories have often frustrated me, because to me, they usually should just become a threesome! ;p


	4. Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something odd has happened to Spike & Cerberus! A dream with the First Slayer has some startling revelations for Buffy. Dawn and Shelly go head-to-head. And Faith and Riley put in an appearance ....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one pics up the morning after where "Company" left off.

BBBBBBBBB

Buffy turned in her sleep, so that her back was snuggled against Spike and her face was towards the window. The morning sun, shining through her curtains, woke her gently with its warmth. She stirred, sighing contentedly. When she moved her head, a beam of light struck her eyes as it peeked through a crack on the curtain, making her wince. She groggily sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Cerberus wagged his tail lazily, and she patted him on the head.

And then she woke the rest of the way, realising with a start that the sunbeam that had kissed her face was _also_ shining on her other bedfellow.

"William!" She shoved him forcefully out of the bed, onto the floor and out of the sun.

Spike gave a cry as he struck the carpet. "Bloody hell, Slayer!"

 

CCCCCCCC

Cerberus whined, standing up. The sun wasn't shining on his part of the bed, so he didn't make the connection that Buffy was pushing the vampire out of it. Was Buffy playing with Spike, or trying to hurt him? He wished humans were easier to understand.

 

SPSPSPSPSP

Buffy threw herself off the bed, then began pawing at him, like she was looking for something. He eyed her nervously as she pawed him, wondering if she was going to kiss or stake him next. He hissed when she touched a tender spot on his skin. Looking at it himself, he saw there was a red stripe across his shoulder.

 

BBBBBBBBB

"Sunburn!" Buffy proclaimed. "We're lucky it wasn't a lot worse!"

Spike stared at the mark in silent shock. Buffy kissed him on the head, sighing in relief, and stood up to fuss with the curtain.

"I think we should get a window shade," she told him as she made sure no more unhindered sunlight came through.

"Buffy ..." The look on Spike's face made her nervous. "Buffy, this shouldn't be possible!"

She sat on the bed, baffled and a little hurt. "Well, I know it's not exactly smiled upon for a Slayer to love a vampire, but hey," she told him as he got up and came around to her side of the bed, shooing Cerberus to the floor, "I've never exactly been one to play the rules, and you're not paying attention to a word I'm saying, are you?" she asked as he went over to the window.

"NO!" she cried, leaping from the bed as he flung the curtains open. She wrapped her arms around him and tried to pull him to the floor, but he wouldn't budge. After a moment, she realised he was still partially in the light-and still alive. Or at least, not going up in flames.

Spike stared at his arms and torso, exposed to the daystar, in awe. "How is this possible?" he whispered.

Cerberus tentatively stuck a paw into the light. Nothing happened. He stepped the rest of the way into it, tongue lolling and tail wagging. Spike swept the dog up into his arms, laughing and dancing about the room.

Buffy sat on the floor, watching them, mystified. She was overjoyed at their discovery, but didn't trust her legs enough to get up and dance with them.

 

DDDDDDDD

Dawn tried unsuccessfully to not make a sound as she puttered about the kitchen, making breakfast. She didn't know the first thing about making French toast, so she'd decided it was time to learn, and surprise everyone. But in order to surprise them, she had to make sure she didn't wake them before she was done.

She cursed when she dropped an egg on the floor.

"Do we have to wash you're mouth out with soap?" Tara smirked at her from the doorway. Willow stood behind her lady, arms wrapped around her waist and chin on her shoulder.

Dawn smiled the smile of the defeated. "I was trying to make breakfast for everyone ...."

"Aw, we'll help—" began Willow, as she used her magic to clean up the mess.

Tara grabbed her lover's hand, causing the egg to splatter back on the floor. "Sweetie, why don't we try doing it the old fashioned way? It'll be more fun."

Willow pouted a moment, then shrugged. "I guess so. If your idea of fun is hard work ...."

Dawn smiled. "I think I get what Tara means. Things mean more if you have to put a little elbow grease into it. You appreciate it more."

Tara gave the girl a shoulder-hug, then bent down to clean up the floor. Willow sighed and walked over to the recipe book, eyes scanning the instructions.

"Good morning, my harem!" Spike walked into the kitchen, arms wide in greeting, grinning from ear to ear. Dawn stared a moment at his fine, shirtless form, trying surreptitiously to enjoy the view, when she realised something. The kitchen curtain was open, and Spike was standing in the sunlight.

Willow apparently noticed it too. "Spike!" she cried, and hurriedly drew the curtain closed. She spun back, scowling. "You should be more careful! Vampire flambé isn't on the breakfast menu!"

Spike walked over to the window. "Here, now, Red, you'll need good light to read that recipe book by!" He drew the curtain open with a flourish.

The three women gasped, each of them flinching as they expected their friend to get extra-crispy any second.

Spike stood there, arms crossed, a self-satisfied smirk on his face, and the sun shining off his skin. Dawn thought he looked a little pink, like he had mild sunburn, but that was it. No smoking or boiling of flesh.

"I think you all better sit down," Buffy told them from the door.

Willow nodded, and immediately sank to the floor. Dawn and Tara managed to plunk down on the kitchen stools.

"So what's happened?" Willow asked, still looking at Spike as if she expected him to become a walking bonfire any second.

"I was actually hoping you could tell me that, Red." Spike replied.

"He can stand in the sun, but he seems to get a bit sunburned still," Buffy explained

Spike looked at the window, squinting. "Yes, in fact I think I've had enough of that for now," he said, and closed the curtain. The pinkness had been slowly going to red as he'd stood in the sun, but now it started to fade.

"He can also touch a cross-"

"But it still bloody hurts. It just doesn't burn nearly as badly. Kind of like holding a cup of hot coffee in a cheap cup," he elaborated. "And the sun kind of hurts to look at." He grinned. "Looks like I'll have to borrow those snazzy sunglasses of yours, love," he told Buffy.

She rolled her eyes before going on. "We've yet to test holy water, or the invitation thing. But, so far, he seems to be a lot less vulnerable to the things that are supposed to hurt a vampire. He doesn't have a pulse or breathe, though — unless he _wants_ to. And what's more, Cerberus seems to be reacting the same way."

Tara stared at the dog, standing at Buffy's feet, as she said, "I don't get it. Is they becoming some sort of super-vamps? Or is Spike becoming human, and Cerberus a normal dog?"

"We think it may have something to do with something Lydia told me a while back," Spike suggested. He told the girls about Lydia's theories on the nature of vampires, and how he related to them. Lydia believed that, rather than actually killing a host, the parasite of vampirism actually altered the host's state of existence, making it possible for that body to support a demon essence. This altered state was allergic to sunlight, and to the cross, which in pagan symbolism harnessed the power of the sun. She believed that Spike's human soul had managed to stay within its altered body, adapting to the new state. She also believed that Spike's human soul might be able to transform his body back into its former human state, effectively curing him — or at least create some sort of new creature, a human-vampire hybrid.

"So why can't vampires just use sunscreen to go outside?" Dawn asked.

"Y'know how there are different levels of sunscreen, Nibblet? And how a lower SPF will allow you to tan, while a higher one will prevent the sun from touching you at all?"

She nodded, and so did the rest of the women.

"Well, lets just say there hasn't been a sunscreen made that was a high enough SPF to protect a vamp."

Dawn grinned. "Until now!"

Spike grinned back, and started to help her with making breakfast.

 

FFFFFFFFF

Faith looked up at the newly-risen moon and smiled. It had been dark for a couple of hours already, but it was still early — only sevenish. She loved winter in the south: still warm, but dark early, meaning she had more hours to play with the vampires. She and Riley had taken a bit of a break during the day, going to Disney World, but "The Haunted Mansion" had nothing on the excitement of her real life. She'd only gone with to indulge Riley.

Now, "It's a Small World", on the other hand ... _That_ was truly a terrifying ride. She shook her head, trying to get the theme song out of her mind. _It's a world of laughter, a world of tears. It's a world of hopes and a world of fears ._...

"Cotton candy?"

Faith jumped. "Sweet Jesus, Riley, don't sneak up on me like that!"

Riley frowned at her. "Just be glad I wasn't a vamp. What's wrong with you, Faith? You know we aren't here for fun; you should be paying more attention. If _I_ could sneak up on you ...."

She scowled at him and gestured to the pink fluff in his hand. "So sayeth the man with the carnival food. This place just gives me the wiggins, all sweetness and light, and probably hiding something dark and sinister..."

Riley laughed. "Sounds like it should be right up your alley!"

She smirked while she looked about. "I think this is actually more up _B's_ alley. We shoulda called _her_ in on this. It's not fair, y'know? She gets to hang in Sunny D, and we have to take care of the _rest_ of the world."

"Oh yeah, 'cause guarding the Hellmouth is such a picnic."

Instead of replying, she headed for "The Pirates of the Caribbean".

"Aw, c'mon, Faith, we've been on this a dozen times already."

She batted her eyes at him, grabbing his arm and speaking with saccharine sweetness, "Oh, but I _love_ this ride, honey, there's always something  _new_ to see ...."

She flicked her eyes to the group ahead of them. Understanding lit his eyes, and so he didn't protest, instead hurrying her along a little.

In the line, they pretended to be a newlywed couple, gushing over each other but not being too loud or obnoxious about it. They wanted to make the crowd in front of them think they were oblivious to the rest of the world — unguarded, easy prey — but didn't want to annoy them enough that the group would stay away from them.

Faith breathed a silent sigh of relief when they were all loaded into the same boat together, with her and Riley in the back. Doubly fortuitous, the boat behind them apparently had some sort of problem, so the launch of that boat was delayed, meaning the next load of people would be safer!

The ride itself was torturous — the tooth fairy was scarier than these pirates! Thankfully she didn't have to look at them much, while she and her Watcher played up the newlywed act. At one point, she pretended to search through her bag for something. The vampires in front of them turned around in their seats, smiling with their game faces, a vamp on each side stopped the boat by grabbing on to the platforms on each side.

Faith grinned back, pulling two stakes out of her bag. She handed one to Riley, and they got to work. Playtime was over. Well, for him, anyway; or her, it was just getting started. The vamps all jumped onto the platforms, four on one side, three on the other. She followed the four, while Riley went after the three. The boat sailed on without them.

"So stayin' in the Haunted Mansion was just too obvious, huh?" She quipped to the vamps as she dogged their attacks, looking for an opening.

One of them shrugged. "Nah, too dusty. I have allergies."

"Really?" She staked him. "I think this place is dustier." She staked another.

She enjoyed herself as she danced the dance of death with the remaining two, even allowing them to get a hit in here and there. The pain was exhilarating. It got her adrenaline flowing, made her stronger. Still, the thrill was short-lived. She had them both dusted before she'd even worked up a sweat. She saw Riley still struggling with his last one, and debated whether it was worth helping him if it meant damaging his frail male ego. That would make him impossible to live with for a while.

She didn't get the chance to decide as the world went dark.

 

SPSPSPSPSP

Dawn grunted with effort as she struck the punching bag as hard as she could. Heavy as it was, she could now make it swing a few inches back. She didn't stop to admire her achievement, though, just kept punching.

"Whatcha doin', Platelet?"

Spike sat down on the bench and watched her.

She didn't stop as she answered. "Workin' out—huff!—what does it—huff!— _look_ like I'm doing?"

Spike only nodded. He knew Dawn was still upset over having learned she wasn't a Slayer-in-Waiting. He didn't see any harm in letting her work out her aggressions. In fact, he was still training her in hand-to-hand combat. Being the little sister of the Slayer meant she was still in danger every day of her life. Maybe she was never going to be the Slayer herself, but Spike would always be her Watcher.

And he was Buffy's Watcher now too, now that Giles had Shelly to train. Well, he didn't think Giles would ever stop being Buffy's Watcher, but he needed help now. And since the council decided they didn't have to pay an undead Watcher, Spike was going to choose who he watched. He didn't think Shelly liked him much, anyway.

_Speak of the devil, and she shall appear_ , Spike thought as Shelly walked into the room, Giles at her side.

"Heya, Dawn! Wanna spar a bit?"

Dawn smiled as she stilled the punching bag. "Sure."

Shelly and Dawn had bonded immediately, despite the fact that the new girl had, in a way, taken Dawn's dream of being a Slayer away. The council knew there was a Slayer-in-Waiting in Sunnydale. They had thought it was Dawn, at first, but later said they had received more signs that the girl had yet to be found. They were satisfied it was Shelly when Giles reported back after meeting her. Instead of resenting Shelly, Dawn had welcomed her into the Scooby Gang with open arms. Even Giles hadn't been so enthusiastic as she.

Spike was considerably less so. It wasn't that he didn't like Shelly — he really had no feelings about her as a person either way, and Cerberus seemed to like her. It was just that they hadn't exactly had the best of introductions. She had seen him as a vampire, and attacked him, even though he had been fighting the demons who'd jumped her in an alley. She'd zapped him with a tazer, and was going to stake him if not for the timely arrival of the police. When he'd woken up, his chip had been rendered useless, thanks to the jolt of the tazer, and he'd had no memory of who — or what — he was. Buffy and the others had caught him feeding (by accident) on a girl, and if not for their faith in him, he could have truly been dusty history. It didn't help that Shelly had seen him again later consorting with the enemy, which he'd only done to get information. She still seemed to see the world as "humans good, vampires bad." He wondered what she would think now that he was somewhere in between vamp and human.

"So the others told me about your situation. Any luck on figuring it out?" Giles asked him as they watched the girls fight.

Spike shook his head. "Only what Lydia told us. And that's only a theory. We can't find anything to suggest a precedence for it." They had spent hours with their noses buried in books, trying to find a reference to something similar.

Giles nodded, his attention on his pupils. "Slow down a little, Shelly. If you're too eager, you won't be able to read the warnings your opponents body gives you, but they can read yours more easily." He flinched as Dawn dodged a punch of Shelly's, then threw a successful one of her own. He took off his glasses and began cleaning them. "Yes, just like that, Dawn." He sat down next to the not-so-vampire, speaking lower so the girls couldn't hear. "You've trained her well."

Spike was surprised at how good those words made him feel, but he shook his head. "Not as well as you trained Buffy. Give it a while, Giles, you've only been at it a few weeks. Slayers aren't made in a day, and Shelly has a lot of preconceived notions about fighting."

Giles nodded. "I hadn't thought of that; you're right. I've got to break her of her bad habits before I can teach her new ones." He patted Spike on the shoulder and stood up, walking over to his new trainee.

Spike was oddly moved by the gesture. And then he realised something. He was pleased by praise from Giles, as if the man were his father. He marveled at how the dynamic between them seemed to have altered. He hoped it wasn't just wishful thinking. For all their verbal sparring, he respected Giles. Giles was also English, giving them a connection they didn't have with any of the other Scoobies. And Giles was the father that Buffy's blood-father wouldn't be. SPike wondered if the Watcher could ever come to think of him as a son the way he saw the other Scoobies as his children. There seemed more hope for the possibility these days ....

 

RRRRRRRR

Riley let out a cry when he saw Faith hit from behind by another vamp and fall into the water. It must have been hiding out somewhere in the attraction. He finished off the last vamp on his side of the water, and threw his stake at the one across the way. His aim was deadly, and the monster was dust.

An empty boat was passing just then, going over the spot where Faith had fallen. It got stuck. Riley stepped to a point beyond it on the platform, and jumped into the water. A boat further back had people in it, and they gaped at him. He ignored them as he lifted the empty boat up a bit and shoved it onward.

He found Faith and pulled her out of the water, lifting her onto the platform and pulling himself up beside her. She wasn't breathing. He immediately set to giving her CPR, but she didn't seem to be responding.

The boat with the people in it had gotten up to them. A man in the boat tried to get out and help, just as a man came out of a hidden doorway further down. Riley tensed; either one of them could be vamps.

The man from the doorway was wearing a pirate outfit and a nametag that said "Bill". Bill told the man from the boat to stay seated with his hands and arms inside the boat at all times. Seeing that someone official was taking care of things, the man did as he was told.

Bill pulled out a walkie-talkie from the back of his belt, and requested an ambulance. Riley was still giving Faith mouth-to-mouth. After another tense few seconds, water came bubbling out of her mouth, and she took several sputtering breaths.

"Help will be here shortly, sir," Bill informed him.

Riley hugged Faith, to him, stroking her wet hair. "Make sure the building is sealed off. No one, employee or otherwise, gets out of here until we determine the threat has been neutralized." He stood and carried her through the doorway Bill had come out of. Bill followed, speaking the orders into his walkie-talkie.

The Watchers had gotten word from their operatives within the theme park that a nest had settled in. This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened, but when it did, they saw to it that the threat was taken care of swiftly and quietly. Only this time, they believed some of the company's own employees had been involved, aiding the vamps by helping them hide themselves and the bodies, and helping with security cameras. Of course the higher-ups were willing to allow the Watchers to use any means necessary to get the situation under control, and offered total cooperation. Employees in suspected nesting areas had all been replaced with operatives —   Bill himself was a Watcher operative. There were also a vast number of hunters-for-hire scouring the vast 47-acre grounds of the resort.

Riley wondered, as Faith shivered in his arms, whether they might be allowed to stay when they were sure the nest was gone, and have a little R&R.

 

SJSJSJSJSJSJ

Dawn was slowing down. She had been working out for quite a while before Shelly had gotten there, and was on her last legs. It was clearly all she could do to dodge the other girl's strikes now. Even at that, she was starting to fail. Shelly clipped her and sent her spinning to the ground.

Shelly immediately dropped down beside her friend and helped her up. "Sorry, Dawn!"

Dawn nursed her jaw a moment, then smiled. "No, no, don't be a silly goose. This sort of thing is going to happen in training."

"Well ... maybe I should just practice with Buffy ...."

Dawn scowled and squared her shoulders. "I'm not made of porcelain, you know. I can hold my own. You're not a Slayer yet; you're not any stronger than a normal girl!"

Shelly sighed. "That wasn't what I meant. I just meant there isn't any reason for you to get hurt just so _I_ can train! I doubt I could do any damage to Buffy." She shrugged. "She would just make a more logical practice dummy, is all."

Dawn didn't seem to be paying attention to her for a moment. An odd look crossed her face. Then she smiled, an eerie, mischievous grin. "A 'dummy', am I? We'll see about that. C'mon, give m your best shot." She gestured for the girl to come forward and hit her.

"No, Dawn, we've had enough practice for one night."

Dawn raised a brow, still grinning. "You've questioned my ability, and stained my honor. You must allow me to get my honor back, and prove myself."

Shelly rolled her eyes. "Dawn, c'mon, let's just drop it already!" She turned to go into the shop.

Dawn grabbed the girl's arm. Shelly was shocked by the strength of her grip. She tried to pull away, and found she couldn't.

"Dawn, let go!"

"I will if you promise to take a swing at me."

"Fine, if it'll make you happy! Just let go already."

Dawn complied, a look of satisfaction in her eyes. She stood there, waiting for Shelly to swing.

When she did, Dawn ducked it easily, and took a swing herself. Her punch landed solidly on Shelly's jaw, sending the girl flying across the mat. Shelly lay there, dazed, as Dawn stood over her and offered her a hand up.

"Now we're even," Dawn told her. There was no arrogance or pleasure in her voice, just a simple statement of the facts.

Once Shelly was on her feet, Dawn bowed and walked into the shop. The fight was over.

 

BBBBBBBB

After a busy patrol, Buffy and Spike were happy to call it a night. They were too tired to do anything but sleep, so they stayed in Buffy's room again, Cerberus happily settling at their feet. They were all fast asleep in minutes.

In her dreams, Buffy was in the desert. It was night, and there was a fire. She could sense something beyond the light, and saw flashes of white. It was the first Slayer.

Buffy crossed her arms, impatient. "I suppose you're going to lecture me about sleeping with another vampire. I would think by now you would get that I don't particularly care about the rules. You don't like what I do, you shouldn't have chosen me."

"I did not choose you. The demon did."

Buffy put her hands on her hips. "Say again?"

"The demon that gives us our power chooses. And now there is another."

Buffy's eyes grew wide. "Faith died?!"

"She died. She came back. Another was called. Now there are five. The Slayer is no longer alone. You must lead them."

"Wait a minute. FIVE? What's the matter, primitive Slayers count? There's me," she ticked off the names on her fingers, "Faith, and now this new girl. Who else?"

"I think she means us, love."

Buffy turned. Spike and Cerberus were standing beside her. Only, Spike looked more like William, his hair a more natural blond. She poked him, hard, in the arm.

"Ow!"

"Are you really here?" she asked him.

"Well no, this is a dream, so I'm not _really_ here — but then, neither are you. But if you're asking if I'm a figment of your imagination or here in astral body, like you, I'll have to say the latter. And I'd say the same goes for Cerberus here."

The dog barked in agreement.

"They are here as you are," the Primitive told them. "They have become as you did."

"Is this a private party, or can anyone join in?" asked a voice from beyond her.

A figure stepped into the firelight. It looked like Spike, his hair bleached and game-face on. Beside him stood a demonic-looking wolf.

"You're him," William said, reaching unconsciously for Buffy's hand. She took it and held it tight.

Spike clapped. "Bra-vo! Yep, I'm your demonic roommate! Oh come now, don't look at me like that. You should know by now that demon's aren't inherently evil — just chaotic. So I like a good rumble! 'S considerably more in'erestin' that the life you _used_ t' live, mister bookworm! Don't get all high and mighty on me and make me wish I'd kicked you out after all! 'Course, I have to say that being practically immune to the effects of sunlight is a nice development ...."

"I don't understand!" Buffy told the Primitive, exasperated. "What exactly is going on?"

"It's simple, chippie," Spike told her, lighting a cigarette. "William here is now a Slayer."

 

DDDDDDDD

Dawn waited until the sounds from Buffy's room were long silent before she made her escape out her bedroom window. She wondered why Buffy hadn't seen fit to nail her window shut — not that she was complaining, mind.

Once on the ground, she made her way to the cemetery, hugging her coat to her against a wind that wasn't there, drawing comfort from the feel of the stake poking at her from inside her pocket.

 

BBBBBBBB

Buffy blinked, lost. She looked at William; he looked just as clueless. "Come again?" she asked Spike.

Spike rolled his eyes, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and Buffy was an especially dense pupil. "'Es the first _male_ Slayer. Started a new line of Slayers altogether, we 'ave — with some help. And the mutt there is the first animal Slayer, thanks to 'im and their mystical-mojo bond. Me an' the dire-wolf 'ere, are the demons wot power 'em up. In return, we get to be all not-crispy in the sun, and not all acid-eaten in the holy water. And we get some action, fightin' other demons, so 's not so bad." He shrugged.

Buffy thought about that a moment. There was something she was missing in all that. What would a vampire have to do with becoming a Slayer? And then she remembered that the Primitive had said something about a demon being the one who chose who got the gift next. She suddenly felt very ill.

"Are you saying that the Slayers get their power from... a _vampire_? That there's a demon inside me, just like there is in my enemies?!?"

Spike nodded. "Yeah, I'd say that was about the size of it."

"But wait a minute ..." William held up a hand. "If that's true, if a Slayer is part human, part vampire, then why hasn't Angel become a Slayer?"

Spike shrugged. "That all depends on your definition of the word, I suppose. I mean, he does kill vampires, after all. But As for why he hasn't transformed back to being at least partly human, I'd say that's because circumstances haven't exactly been right for that. You never left your body; he did. You've always maintained a connection with your shell; he was gone for a while. You've always been at relative peace with me, while Angel's human soul wars with Angelus. He _could_ become a Slayer, if he wanted to, and accepted the terms."

"What about _me_?" Buffy protested. "I never accepted having a vampire inside me!!"

"That's different, love. That'd be like saying 'no one asked me if I wanted to be human'. It's in you're blood, just as being a human is." Spike sat down on the ground, then looked back into the shadows. "You wanna take it from here, love?"

From out of the darkness came another figure. It looked like Buffy as a vampire. Buffy felt her stomach flop, and even the Primitive seemed to shrink away form the creature. Vamp Buffy sat down on Spike's lap. They curled their arms about each other and smiled at their human counterparts.

 

DDDDDDD

Dawn smiled when she spotted Shelly. The girl was out patrolling, just as she'd thought. Putting everything Spike had taught her about lurking to good use, she crept up quietly behind the Slayer-in-Waiting.

When she was right on the girl's heels, she whispered, "Nice night for a patrol, huh?"

Shelly spun, stake in hand, ready to drive it through the heart of a vampire.

 

BBBBBBBBB

"See, sweetie," Vamp Buffy began, "Not all of us are evil. Back in our own dimension, we don't usually kill when we feed. The vampires you know are descendants of criminals from my world. They didn't like the laws of our people, so they fled here to live and kill as they pleased. I'd come here, with several others, to stop them. But our host forms were not human, and we quickly discovered they could not survive in this environment. Something about this dimension prevented us from simply transferring ourselves to new hosts, human ones. One of my group had already discovered that to try was to kill the host. Stealing a host is forbidden among my people. While the convicts had no qualms about taking human lives to survive, we would not.

"When that one's tribal elders found me," she pointed to the primitive, "I was the last of my group left alive, and my host was dying. They did not yet know exactly what monsters were plaguing them, only that a great evil had come into their world. So they worked to save me, and I vowed to help them rid the world of it's new evil. With the elders' help, I found a way to bond the vampire demon with its human host, leaving the host body alive and it's human soul in tact, and giving it vampire strength. In return, they promised that all of this one's bloodline," she pointed to the Primitive again, "would be bound to me as well. When one Slayer dies, I'm drawn by the bond into another host. Every Slayer-in-Waiting is a descendant by the matriarchal lines of her family, from her sisters.

"I had resigned myself to my task, and the idea that I would always be alone. But over the many centuries I hoped to find another of my kind that I could make into a Slayer. I thought it would be Angel that would help me achieve this end, but when I tried to bond his two souls, it didn't work. As Spike said, the human and the vampire refused to co-exist, each insisting on total control. Until William, all the human souls had been forced out of the shell when it was acquired by one of my kind. Even Angel had required a spell to give his human soul access to his body again. But William embraced what Spike had to offer him long ago.

"Last night was the first time all the conditions were right — that there was a vampire soul that was not evil, co-habitating in his host with a human soul. All the vampires here being descendants of the convicts, they tend to behave as they were taught by their forefathers, to take pleasure in pain and destruction. Even this one here," she kissed Spike, "was less than well-behaved in the beginning. But sharing his host with William, and spending time with you," she looked pointedly at Buffy, "has taught him how to love, giving him incentive to change for the better. And that allowed me to bond their souls to make a new Slayer, as the humans had shown me how to do all those years ago."

It was William's turn to look confused. "So what's with the metamorphosis? When a Slayer becomes the Slayer, the change is instantaneous! I'm still not alive!"

The smile she gave him was surprisingly gentle. "You had to change from vampire back to human. The transformation is reversing itself, and taking the same amount of time to make the alterations as it had when you 'died'. You will be human—or Slayer, rather—by the time you awaken from this dream. And Cerberus will be alive, too. Your connection to him allowed me to bond his two souls as well."

Buffy looked at the wolf at Spike's side. Was this all just dream symbolism, or was that what was really inside of the little dog?

"So now I'll be mortal?" William asked. Buffy noted that he didn't sound either happy or disappointed—it was a question like someone might ask in biology class.

Vamp Buffy laughed. "You think a Slayer is _mortal_???"

Buffy raise her hand. "Uh, hello? I _died_ , remember? _Twice_ , in fact!"

Vamp Buffy shook her head. "You were _killed_. A vampire can be killed too. A Slayer is as immortal as a vampire — even if they _are_ a bit easier to kill — and will never die of natural causes." She looked a bit sad and wistful at that. "That was the one thing we couldn't be rid of, the immortality. If we had, the Slayer wouldn't have the vampire strength. Still, the Slayer can be killed far more easily than a vamp. It doesn't take something so specific as a wooden stake to the heart, just a worse wound than your accelerated healing factor can handle. And the demon — that would be me — takes a back seat to the human soul, until there's a fight. I can walk in the sun, and I no longer need blood because my host is still alive. We weren't really sure what would happen, but I think the plusses outweigh the minuses. But I still can never know peace. At least now I will no longer be alone!" She gazed lovingly at Spike.

 

SJSJSJSJSJSJ

Dawn caught Shelly's stake with her hand, grinning. "Whoa, there, cowgirl! It's just me!"

Shelly scowled at her friend. "Dawn, I almost staked you!" she hissed. "What are you doing, sneaking up on me like that?!" She thought about it for a moment. "On second thought, _how_ did you sneak up on me?"

Dawn looked at her nails, shrugging. "I dunno. Something I picked up form a certain vampire, I guess." She dropped the coy routine in favor of smugness, crossing her arms. "Although I'm surprised it worked on you, you being the Slayer-in-Waiting and all!"

Shelly sighed, exasperated. "Dawn, I'm not the Slayer _yet_! And I may never be! In fact, I hope I never am. I don't want another girl to die just so I can be!"

Dawn paled. "I forgot about that. I mean, Faith wasn't the nicest person in the world, but ...."

A sound from the nearby bushes made both girls jump.

 

BBBBBBBB

Buffy sat long moments staring at the fire, absorbing the warmth and the words. _At least now I know where a Slayer gets her death wish from_ , she thought. _It's the demon's wish to finally be able to die, and escape the loneliness and horror of her existence ..._ Aloud, she said, "But what about Kendra? And Faith? There are already more Slayers now!"

"When a vampire creates a fledgling, a bit of their own demon spirit goes into the new host, rather like an amoeba splitting. They are, in essence, copies of me. Twin sisters, if you like, or daughters. So yes, I guess in that respect, I was not alone, once that happened. But then again, it's like looking in funhouse mirrors, being surrounded by altered versions of yourself."

"So ... you're saying you've made Spike into my ... 'mate'?"

"Something like that. You must understand, I would never have done this without his consent and yours. I knew you loved him, and that he would welcome all that being a Slayer has to offer. He can still help you fight, unlike Riley, and now can walk among men as one of them, as you do. And, if you are willing, you will bear children who will be Slayers."

Buffy stood, eyes flashing. "Whoa, wait a minute! You want me to put this ... this _curse_ on my _offspring_?!"

"Not exactly. I mean, you do not have to have children if you don't wish it. I neither can nor will force you in this. But if you mate with William, your children _will_ be Slayers. You will be the start of a new race of 'wolves' to hunt the vampires. Your children will protect your ordinary human kin from my bloodthirsty brethren, and any other monster out there. Together, we have evolved into something new, something beneficial to both our species." Her voice became pleading. "Buffy, if I could reverse time and the spell of the bond, I would give you back your life, your childhood. Do you think I _wanted_ to leave my home? My loved ones? You know about sacrifice for the good of all — and so do I."

Buffy could see the tears in her vampire-self's eyes. She didn't want to believe. Didn't _want_ to, but _did_. And she understood the necessity of it, even as she wanted to scream at the heavens for the unfairness of it all. Life was life. She had already learned that vampires were not inherently evil. Now it was time she _accepted_ it.

The Primitive spoke. "You are blessed. You are allowed to know what no other Slayer has: love. You are not alone, as those before you were."

Buffy felt her heart go out to the first Slayer, for the loneliness she must have known.

The Primitive continued. "And you already have a daughter who is a Slayer, now."

Buffy and William stared at the first Slayer. "Come again?" they said in tandem.

 

DDDDDDDD

Two vamps swaggered out from behind the shrubbery. "Well, well, well, looks like Sunnyville done sent out the welcome wagon!" one said.

"That's Sunny _dale_ , moron." Dawn told him, rolling her eyes. "Can't you _read_?" She pointed to the sign above the gate that read "Sunnydale Cemetery".

Both the vampires shrugged. The second one said, "Nope." They stepped towards the girls, sneering. Then the second vampire stopped, scowling. The first stopped too, puzzled by his friend's pause.

"Ain't ya gonna run? Er scream, at least?" the second vampire asked, clearly disappointed.

The first one turned to them, straightening in indignation. "Hey, yeah! What gives? You too dumb to know a _vampire_ when ya see one, girlie?"

"Nope." Shelly smiled, holding up her stake.

"But you're too dumb to tell a _Slayer_ when you see one, apparently," Dawn added, holding up her own.

 

BBBBBBBB

"The Key," the Primitive answered.

"Dawn? But she's not even a Slayer-in-Waiting!" Buffy protested.

Vamp Buffy raised a brow. "What makes you think that?"

"The Watchers said they made a mistake! They said  _Shelly_ was really the Slayer-in-Waiting in Sunnydale — aaaand this is the Watchers council we're talking about, of _course_ they screwed up, why am I _not_ surprised?" Buffy finished, giving William an exasperated look.

Vamp Buffy nodded. "Dawn and Shelly are _both_ descendants of the Slayer bloodlines, just as you and Faith are, and Kendra was. Faith drowned earlier today, so another piece of myself went to Dawn, the next best candidate."

"Faith is okay, right?" Buffy asked. The Primitive had said she came back, but that didn't mean she was healthy.

Vamp Buffy nodded. "She drowned, like you did, then was revived by Riley. But since she was dead for a few minutes, the spell called for a new Slayer. This was another unforeseen situation. Back when we first cast it, none of us ever imagined there would be a way to resurrect a Slayer. Apparently, when you're not 100% dead, I split, just like the other vampires' demons do when they sire someone. I'm actually surprised the spell didn't call _another_ Slayer when you died the _second_ time. But we can ruminate on all this another day. For now, I think you'd better go help Dawn. She's let the power go to her head, and gotten herself into a bit of hot water."

Buffy tensed, and saw William's eyes wide with the same fear and worry she suddenly felt. "What's happened?" Buffy asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Vamp Buffy shrugged. "Oh, nothing too serious. Just stepped into a hornet's nest, so to speak, in the cemetery. It's not so bad — Shelly's there, too. Still, I'd wake up now, if I were you, and hurry on over there."

"How?!" William cried, gripping Buffy's hand like iron. Cerberus whined beside them. "How do we wake up?!"

The primitive scowled at them, puzzled. "Just do!" she told them.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Do we have to do _everything_ for you?"

The three demons rose and walked over to their appropriate counterparts. They seemed to step inside them—

Buffy and William jerked awake, sitting upright, their hands still locked together as they had been in the dreamworld. Cerberus leapt from the bed and raced out the door. The humanoids untangled themselves from their blankets and raced after him.

Tara and Willow apparently heard the ruckus and tore their bedroom door open. "What's the matter, where's the fire?!" Willow asked, her red hair wild as her eyes.

"Dawn snuck off to the cemetery!" Buffy told them as she hurried down the stairs. She scrambled to open the locks on the front door.

Willow appeared beside her with her gauntlet in hand. "Here, this is faster!" She used the gauntlet to open a magic portal to an area they knew well: Spike's old crypt.

 

DDDDDDDD

The vampires rushed at the two girls. The girls evaded them easily. A moment later, they were standing in the vampires' dust.

Dawn brushed her hands together. "Well, that was easy! We make a good team!"

Shelly smiled. "Yeah, we do! Y'know, Dawn, if I ever do become the Slayer, I hope you'll be my Slayerette-"

"I don't think you're gonna live t' see that day, li'l lady!"

Vampires were coming towards them from all sides. The girls didn't even have time to be frightened as they ducked and dodged, swung and kicked. They let their instincts move them, as they had been taught.

Dawn grabbed a vamp by the wrist and swung him into two others. When she kicked the next one, he flew across the graves into the mausoleum wall. She Leapt high into the air, causing two that were coming at her from both sides to collide into each other. When she landed, it was in a handstand. She horse-kicked another vamp into a tombstone, cracking it. She grabbed her stake form the ground and went after more.

 

SJSJSJSJSJ

Shelly was doing well in her own right, staking more vamps even if she didn't have Dawn's finesse. That is, until she noticed what Dawn was doing. Dumbfounded, she stared in awe at her friend's superhuman exploits.

 

DDDDDD

Dawn finished off another vamp and looked Shelly's way. Her eyes went wide. "Shelly!" she cried, rushing towards the stunned girl. She grabbed another stake from her pocket and threw both, one to either side. Shelly jumped, startled by the poofs of dust to either side of her. Dawn grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Are you all right?!"

Shelly stared at Dawn, with an expression somewhere between awe and horror. "You ... you're the Slayer now ... aren't you ...." It wasn't really a question.

Dawn let go, all the pride of her success washed out of her as she realised Shelly was right. Dawn knew what the life of a Slayer was like, had been in danger before, had been fully willing to accept the role, even welcome it — so why did the way she was feeling now come as such a surprise? The gift of being a Slayer felt less like a prize won and more like the heavy mantle of responsibility now she realised that it truly was. And as much as she'd wanted to prove herself to Buffy and the others, she wondered for the first time if she was really ready.

"DAWN!"

She spun towards the voice, the voice of her sister. She was in for it now. Her eyes opened wide as she found a vamp directly behind her, between herself and Buffy — and without even thinking about it, she it turned to dust. She looked down at the ground, seeing the grave it had just dug its way out of. On top of it were two stakes. She barely noticed as her sister threw her arms around her, practically crushing her in her embrace. Buffy always forgot how strong she was. Would Dawn forget now, too? Would she accidentally hurt someone?

"Dawn? Are you all right?" Buffy's eyes were full of tears.

Spike was there too, wrapping his arms around both of them. He wasn't crying, but his eyes were full of worry. "Nibblet, speak up, love? Are you hurt?"

Dawn finally managed to shake her head, and get the words out. "I'm fine. Really." Not quite the truth, but it would do. She turned towards her friend. "Shelly? What about you?"

Willow and Tara had gone over to the girl, and were fawning over her. She seemed catatonic, and they were doing their best to get her to snap out of it.

Dawn pulled out of her sister's embrace and went over to her friend. She gave her a light (she hoped) slap. "Shell, snap out of it!"

The girl began to cry. "I-I've never faced so many at once before! They just k-kept coming! And _you_ ! You handled it better than I ever could!"

Dawn hugged the girl tight, smoothing her hair with a hand. "Don't say that, Shelly! You would have done exactly the same in my place! It's the gift that allowed me to do those things — I could never have done it one my own! But you! You did it _without_ the gift!" She held the girl by the shoulders. "Buffy would never have lasted so long without her Slayerettes. Will you be mine? I need friends to help me."

Shelly wiped her eyes and nodded. "I have to, just to make sure you live, so I won't be called myself!" She laughed, and Dawn joined her.

Willow looked at Tara, clearly confused. "Did you understand a word of that?"

Her lover shook her head. "Maybe we're sleepwalking."

Willow nodded, looking thoughtful. "I think we should go back to bed," she said, heading back towards the portal. Tara took her hand and followed.

Buffy held out her hand. "C'mon, Dawnie. You too, Shelly, you can spend what's left of the night at our place."

Dawn took her sister's hand in hers, and took Shelley's in her other hand. Spike held Buffy's other hand, and carried Cerberus in his other arm.

"So I guess I'm grounded, huh?" Dawn asked.

Buffy shook her head. "Can't ground a Slayer for going out on patrol, now can I? But next time, you come. Get. Me!" she poked the girl for emphasis.

Dawn stared at Buffy in shock. "Y-you _know?_ That I'm a Slayer?"

"Mmmmmm, we have a LOT to tell you ..."

Spike groaned. "It can wait 'til morning, okay? I wanna actually be awake for my first day alive in over a hundred years!"

Dawn stared at him as they reached the portal, stumbling over a rock. "ALIVE???"

Buffy sighed and ruffled her sister's hair as they stepped into the house. "Tomorrow."

The portal closed behind them.

END 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand that's the last of it. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! <3

**Author's Note:**

> If you've enjoyed my writing, I invite you to explore my original fantasy storyverse, [Gaiankind](http://gaiankind.com)! You can even find Gaiankind stories for free [here](http://archiveofourown.org/tags/Gaiankind) on AO3!


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